Their Journey
by luverofjamesandlily
Summary: Even though it's only 'cause he likes my best friend, he says hi to me. It's a start, right? Please read and review!
1. The Crush

Kim's POV

I tried to look sneakily at him, him being Jared. I wish that he would notice me as more than just the friend of the girl he likes. Yes, he likes my best friend Anna. We have been best friends since the first day of kindergarten. My other best friend, Charlotte, has been friends with me since the middle of third grade. Anna completely doesn't like him, but he really likes her. I wish that I could change that. Sure, he says hi when he sees me, but other than that… I don't exist to him.

I catch the eye of Anna and grimace, to show her the plan to get his attention isn't working. She smiles sympathetically. As soon as the bell rings, I am out of my seat, hoping to catch him on the way out. He just passes by, laughing at something his best friend Paul said. But I did see him smile at Anna, I also caught the frown she gave him.

"Sorry, Sweetie." Anna said as she came up behind me. "I don't know what to do! Even when I tell him with no hinting I can't go out with him, he doesn't give up!" she exclaimed.

"I know, it isn't your fault!" I told her. Anna is so sweet, she feels horrible for having Jared like her.

"I'm sorry." She said again.

This time I smiled, thinking how lucky I was to have Anna.

"Let's go meet Charlotte." I sighed. We were going to have lunch.

When we met up with Charlotte, Anna started ranting about how dumb boys were. Charlotte caught my eye and asked, "So, I take it our little plan isn't working for us?"

"No." I sighed, and then felt horrible, because Anna started doubling the speed of her rant.

"Anna, relax, I doubt he will ever like me." But as I said that, I swept the cafeteria with my eyes, just to see his face. I immediately looked away as soon as I did see him, in case he looked over here. I really like Jared, more than anyone else. Anna knows this, which is part of why she feels so terrible.

"He does to like you!!! He just doesn't know it yet!!" She exclaimed at once, her protective side being triggered as my words betrayed my hurt.

"Sure." I said in a way to placate her.

She rolled her eyes and started talking to Charlotte about the cute boy that sits next to Charlotte in English. Who, might I add, likes Charlotte. I can totally understand why Jared likes Anna, she is extremely pretty having raven black hair and dark black eyes, that could turn a chocolate brown. She also has a pretty face, with clear skin and a cute little nose. Not to mention her sweet and kind personality. Me, on the other hand, I have dark hair and dark eyes like Charlotte, but I have to much cheek and my eyes are a pretty shape, but they are to small, and my mouth is to small. And I while I am pretty nice, I am nowhere near as selfless and sweet as Anna.

I have to stop throwing these pity parties! I am who I am, and if Jared isn't the one for me, than I should deal with it. The only problem is, I don't want to get over him! I want to be the one he hugs and tells things to, and just be able to talk to him.

"Kim… Kim! You there?" A voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry what?" I asked, embarrassed.

"I asked which haircut should I get?" An annoyed Charlotte asked. In front of me was a magazine with three different cuts on it. The first was short and pixy like, the second was about mid-length and had layers, and the third was about halfway to the model's elbow with slightly curly ends.

"Defiantly the last one" I said. "With your face, you could pull it off." It was true, and I thought she should get a hair cut. Her hair was almost to her butt, it looked good, but she has had it that way forever.

Her eyes lit up and she grinned while saying thank you. I could tell it was the one she wanted. The rest of the day went fast, till second to last hour. I went to get a drink of water and saw a younger freshman sprawled across the hallway, with her things everywhere. I gasped and went to help her up.

"Are you ok?" I asked. She nodded but looked as if she were going to cry. "It's ok, this happened to me in fifth grade." I said laughingly, trying to make her feel better. "Except no one stopped to help me." I said. "And your name is?"

"It's Eva, thank you." she said. She had a nice voice, if not a little embarrassed. And honestly, who wouldn't be?

"Don't worry about it." I grinned as I helped pick up her things. "Which class are you in?"

"I'm in Mr. Garochi's class." She said.

Are you late?" I asked.

She nodded, looking worried again.

"Then don't worry, he loved me when I had him." She looked relieved.

We walked to the classroom and I went in with her. "Mr. Garochi?" I asked.

"Why it's Ms. Johnson! It's a delight to see you!" He exclaimed.

"Well, I was just helping Eva, and she had some trouble, so I was wondering if you could excuse her?" I asked.

"Why of course!" he smiled.

Eva smiled at me and I smiled back and left the room.

I quickly got a drink and went back to class. After school, Anna and Charlotte came over.

"So." Anna said as we settled down on my bed to talk.

So what?" Charlotte questioned.

"So, we need to find a way to get Jared to notice Kim and not me!" She said.

"OK…" We all thought, then Charlotte exclaimed, "I got it! So we send Kim over to the cliff, make her jump and as she jumps in we get Jared there and he can save her!"

"I am not jumping off a cliff!" I shouted, I am TERIFIED of heights.

"OK." She frowned as she thought.

"I think we just need to make them run into each other a lot, when I'm not there." Anna said.

"That's a good idea!" I agreed.

"I'm hot, can we go for a walk?" Charlotte asked.

"Sure!" I agreed, I wanted to do something instead of just sit there.

We walked down to the beach and just strolled arm in arm around the beach.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get some water, you guys want some?" I asked.

They shook their heads so, I went to get myself some water. As I walked, I saw the familiar head of… Jared. I tried walking away, but he saw me.

"Hey Kim!" He called. "How are you?" He asked. I wondered how long it would take him to ask of Anna.

"I'm good, how are you?" I asked.

"I'm fine, hey have you seen Anna lately?" He asked.

"Actually, we are kind of having a girl time, but I'll tell her you asked about her, ok?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, tell her I want to talk to her about something, will you?"

"Sure, I will. Have a nice day." I told him as I paid for my water and walked away.

I couldn't believe it, how can he not tell I like him?

"Jared was up there." I announced to the girls as I rejoined them.

"What happened?" Charlotte gasped.

"What do you think, he asked for Anna, he has to talk to her about something."

"Kim, I am so sorry!" Anna cried.

"It isn't your fault!" I protested.

"Yeah, but it isn't yours either!" She retorted.

"Yeah." I sighed.

Jared's POV

I watched Kim walk away and noticed Anna and the other one, I think her name is Charlotte greet her, and then turn sad as Kim told them something, I wonder what happened that made Anna looks so sad. Then I heard the words, "Not…fault."

Then Anna's voice, "Not either!" I wonder what they said.

I turned away to find Paul standing there. He eyed me disapprovingly, "You really don't notice her?" He asked. I looked blankly at him, and he sighed. "Well, I cant do anything about that." I didn't even bother to ask, I know he meant I should get over Anna and ask out Kim, but I really liked Anna, not as much as my first, and only girlfriend, but I still liked her.

"Paul, I don't like Kim!" I tried to explain.

"I know you don't but she is sweet and nice, and she likes you."

"No, she doesn't! And I don't like her! Just leave it alone, Paul" With that, I walked off.


	2. The Imprint

Kim's POV

As I walked into school the next day, I tried to see where 1. Anna was, was, and where. I managed successfully to see where Anna and Charlotte were, but I couldn't find Jared. That was kind of weird, he always came to school unless… he was sick. Oh, I hope he isn't sick!

"Hey, have you guys seen…him?" I asked in a low voice.

They both shook their heads. Dang, I thought. I always liked seeing him, I don't know, it was like a high point in my day, just to see him. Before you say anything, I am NOT a stalker, I just like to see him, is that so weird?

Charlotte leaned closer and said," We think we have a plan!"

"What is it?" I asked excitedly.

"Well, if Anna got a boyfriend… then he couldn't keep liking her!"

"But who is Anna gonna go out with?" I asked, concerned, Anna rarely talks about anyone the way we do.

"Well, I kind of like this guy named Nicko." She admitted with a smile.

"But you never said anything!" I was shocked.

"You were busy with your own guy problems."

"But, oh I'm sorry! I was to self-absorbed to see it!" I cried.

"It isn't your fault that some guy has you occupied." She retorted.

"Not really, if I was occupied by him, then I would be with him." I sighed.

For the rest of the week, we planned and plotted about how to make this Nicko like Anna. We soon discovered that we didn't need a plan, he already liked her. It was a lot easier than we had planned, because Jared was out all week. I got worried, because he had never missed so much school, non of us really did.

So the week-end finally came and we had just finalized our plans. We were gonna go out walking and (Cough, cough) RUN into Nicko. Charlotte and I were going to somehow slip away and let Nicko do the rest.

It all started out according to plan, we left walked around for a while, then we met Nicko, and Jared? Yes, Jared showed up. Charlotte took control of the situation before Anna or I could think. She grabbed Jared's arm and as she walked away with him, asked if he would help us get some drinks for everyone. He sounded like he was going to argue but then gave in as he took in Charlotte's expression.

"So where have you been all week?" I asked as we walked.

"Oh, I was sick, just a bad cold, I think I will be back on Monday, but I'm not sure." He told us.

"Interesting." Charlotte said. As we got to the counter, we ordered five bottles of water. I reached out to pay for them and we all grabbed the bottles. As we walked back, I could tell that things were going. Good. Anna looked really happy and Nicko did also.

"What did we miss?" I asked, somewhat jokingly, since I know what had happened.

"Nicko asked me out! We have a date on Friday!" Anna sounded so happy!

Jared looked as if he were going to choke on the water he had in his mouth.

"I got to go." He said suddenly.

As soon as he left, Charlotte grabbed Anna's arm and called good-bye to Nicko over her shoulder.

"Where's the fire?" I asked jokingly.

"In Jared!" She said at once.

Anna and I were both stunned, "What?"

"His arm was so hot! I felt like he had a temperature a billion degrees hot!" She yelled, frustrated we were so slow.

"Are you sure?" We asked.

"I'm positive, I felt like my fingers were gonna fall off, well maybe cause I was holding onto his arm so tight, but then cause his arm was so hot!"

"Ok, what are we supposed to do about that?" I asked.

"I don't know! But I just thought that you might like to know that the guy you like is a billion degrees hot." She said.

"Ok." I said.

Despite what he had said, Jared wasn't there on Monday. The day kind of passed like a blur. He has looked perfectly fine on Saturday, what had happened? Maybe he had had a relapse of whatever he had had. I don't know.

But he was back Wednesday! I was so happy, and he didn't even look at me once.

After school, Anna and Charlotte were busy so I decided to go to the beach. I brought my bathing suit, in case I wanted to go swimming, under my clothes. Once I got there, I decided I did want to go swimming. I peeled off my shirt and pants and waded into the water. I heard loud voices to my left, I tried to ignore them, but they were really loud! I turned to look and it was Jared with Paul and, that older one, I think his name is Sam?

They were messing around and having fun. I swam farther out to get away from them. What I didn't realize was the tide was changing and my body is so tiny, the waves were to big. I tried swimming back in, but the waves just crashed into me and pulled me out farther.

"Help!" I screamed, but the waves caught my words and threw them back at me. "Help!" I screamed again. This time the boys heard. They looked around, bewildered until they saw me being thrown around.

Sam started to swim towards me, but Paul nudged him and said something. So, they turned to Jared who immediately started swimming towards me. Just as he got to me, a humongous wave came up and would have knocked me over, if Jared hadn't locked his arms around my waist. He bent over me protectively and then started swimming in as soon as the wave had passed.

"Are you alright?" He asked me. I nodded, not sure if my voice worked. Then he looked me in the eye and suddenly, I just had this feeling, that he loved me. He must of felt it to, because he was hugging me. Sam and Paul came over. "Do you need to go see the doctor?" Sam asked in his deep voice.

"I am fine, thank you." I hated doctors, ever since I was little.

"If you're sure." He said, not believing me.

"I'm gonna walk Kim home, then I'll come back here, alright?" He asked the them.

They nodded and Jared got up and picked my shirt and pants, then he held onto my hand.

Wow, Charlotte was right, his hand was HOT! "Why is your hand so hot?" I asked, before I thought about it. I blushed, and looked down.

He just laughed, "I will tell you, just not now, ok?" He asked, actually sounding concerned, like he couldn't bear it if I said no.

"Sure!" I laughed.

"We got to my house and he let go of my hand and handed me my clothes.

"I'll see you tomorrow." he breathed on my neck. I giggled and said bye.

I went in and watched as he walked back to the beach.

Then I too ka shower, and as soon as I was done, I called Anna and Charlotte on a group call.

"Guess what?" I asked.

"What ?" They both said.

"I think Jared likes me. I almost drowned at the beach and he saved me! Then he looked in my eyes and I just felt, like he loved me. It was so weird and the nicest thing at the same time." I shook my head in wonder. "Then he like said I will see you tomorrow on my neck, and his breath tickled." I said.

"It sounds like Kim has a boyfriend!" Charlotte said excitedly.

"You think so?" I asked.

"Yeah." They both said, they made it sound like I was the dumbest person in the world.

"Ok." I said.

"Can I come over and help you plan your outfit?" Charlotte asked excitedly.

"Sure." I sighed, it would make her really happy.

She came over, along with Anna, who then proceeded to ransack my room, until they found something "suitable" for me to wear.

With a "Aha!" Charlotte held up a blue shirt/dress thing with a strip pattern and a pair of black leggings.

"If I wear it, will you guys leave me alone?" I asked.

"Maybe." They grinned evilly.

"OK, see you tomorrow!" I called as I kicked them out the door.

**Thank you for reading and PLEASE review! I will answer EVERY review!**


	3. The kiss

Kim's POV

I was looking for him the moment I was in the school doors, it was like I needed to see him. Something had happened yesterday, I'm not sure what, but something did. The instant I saw him, he turned to look at me and he immediately walked over.

"How are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I said, blushing at the sudden attention.

He smiled at me, I had never had anyone smile at me before like that, like he really adored me.

I smiled back shyly. "And how are you?" I asked.

"I'm perfect!" He exclaimed, I thought he added something after that, but I might have imagined that.

"That's good." I tried to sound casual, but just the fact that he was talking to me was trouble enough, but he was holding my hand now! I couldn't believe it.

"Should we get to class" He asked.

"I suppose." I frowned, that meant we wouldn't be by each other.

"What's wrong?." He asked.

"Nothing." I said, blushing.

It looked like he anted to ask me more about it, but he decided not to.

"So, you are gonna sit by me at lunch?" I asked, wishing desperately he would say yes. Oddly enough, I knew that I wouldn't have asked him this, even if he was paying the same attention to me, before what happened yesterday.

"Of course, if that's ok with you." He added that as an after thought.

"Yeah." I said shyly.

He just smiled as he saw me blush and he took my books as we walked.

Anna looked at me and smiled, probably thinking, I was right!

I smiled at her and she grinned.

Jared dropped my books off at my desk and then proceeded to let me sit down and he sat at the desk next to mine.

"Aren't you going to go sit by Paul? He'll get all lonely." I was shocked at myself, I never tease people I barely know. Somehow, this was different.

"He'll live." and he smiled down at me. I just noticed how tall he is, ok, I am very short, at 5'2, but he even towered over the teacher.

"How tall are you?" I asked suddenly.

"6'9." He answered.

Holy cow! He is even taller than my father! My dad is 6'5. I got my mother's genes, since she is 5'4.

I lowered my voice to a whisper and asked," So when do I get to learn your… secret?"

He looked around for a moment and then said," If you want, you could come to my house and I could tell you there?"

I was surprised, it must be big if he can't tell me here.

"Sure." I said, my voice light.

"Great!" He smiled.

Then class started and we had to pay attention.

The remaining classes seemed to take forever till lunch. That's the good thing about time, it always comes, no matter what. So, eventually lunch did come.

I walked in and sat at my table and waited for Anna, Charlotte, and Jared. Charlotte came first. I asked her if it was alright if Jared sat with us.

She looked shocked for a moment but then assured me it was fine. I smiled.

Then Jared came. He saw me and smiled. I smiled back. Everything seemed so… perfect.

He took the seat next to me and asked," How are you Charlotte?" She looked surprised at being addressed but managed to say," Fine."

Anna met up with us and I saw her look of shock before she sat down. She smiled at me and seemed to say congratulations.

"Hello Jared." She said.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked politely.

Lunch seemed to pass so fast compared to my classes, and soon it was time to go home.

"Anna, I'm going to Jared's house, so we can't hang out today." I said, trying to sound remorseful we weren't going to hang out, but I could only sound excited.

She laughed and said it was fine.

I met up with Jared and suddenly I was nervous, what was his house going to be like?

Jared's POV

I smiled as Kim met me by the school doors. She seemed… nervous.

I caught hold of her hand, and I felt her recoil very slightly as she felt my warm hand. She would know soon.

We got home, no one is home, my parents are at work and my sister is at her friends house.

"This is my house." I said proudly, it was not huge, but it was nice.

Kim's POV

His house was so nice! It was pretty and light. His living room had three big windows, letting in a lot of light. His kitchen was beautiful, with nice wooden counters and another window.

He told me the rooms with the door closed were his parents and sisters.

Then we went into his room. It was nice, with (surprise, surprise) another window. It had a bed pushed to one wall, a desk against the other wall, and a book case and a dresser against the third wall. There was a chair against the wall that had the door we just came through. It was painted a light green.

"I like it." I said.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice." he said modestly.

"So, what's this big secret?" I asked, getting right down to business.

Now he looked nervous.

"Maybe you should sit down." He said quietly.

"Ok…" I said, trailing off as I sat on the chair.

He sat on his bed and looked in my eyes.

"The reason I feel so hot and why I am so tall is-" He swallowed and continued, "Is that I am a werewolf."

He looked at me anxiously and my face felt frozen.

"Ok." I said, thinking, "Can I see you as a wolf? That isn't dangerous, is it?"

He laughed and said," Not at all."

I breathed a small sigh of relief.

"So what else can you do?" I asked as we walked.

"I can see in the dark, I hear very well, and I imprint." He said the last word softly.

"What was that? And where are we going?" I asked.

"We are going outside so I can change. Imprinting is where you… find your… soul mate." He looked at me again, worried.

Oh, so he was going to find his soul mate. Then what am I?

"So who's the girl?" I asked unwillingly.

He looked shocked.

"It's you!" he said, as if it were obvious, which, I realized was. Oops.

"Right." I said, embarrassed.

We arrived in his back yard.

"Alright, I'm gonna go in the shed and change. Don't worry, I wont hurt you." he promised.

"OK, but why do you need to go in the shed?" I asked.

"Well, I need to take off my clothed…" He trailed off, embarrassed.

"Right," I said.

Without saying another word, he walked into the shed, turning the corner so I couldn't see him.

I waited a moment and a big light brown wolf walked out.

I waited for him to come to me, and he did.

I petted his head, laughing as he tried to lick me.

"Don't do that!" I cried. He laughed, or at least I think he did.

I hugged him, and then said," Go change back."

He seemed to agree, for he turned around and walked into his shed.

He came back out and joined me, as I had sat down on the grass. I leaned against his shoulder and sighed with contentment as he put his arm around me to pull me closer.

"Kim, you're fantastic, not a lot of girls could see that without screaming."

I just nodded, not wanting to spoil the moment.

Slowly, he turned to face me and I moved with him, facing him. He brought his face to mine and kissed me gently. It was my first kiss, and it was wonderful. I put my hands through his hair and he moved his to my waist. We broke apart, having a need for oxygen.

I smiled at him.

Jared's POV

Her lips were so soft. I wanted to sit there all day, just holding her. She smiled and I ran a finger over her lips. She just smiled and sat there. That's what we did, we sat there while I held her. Then the wind blew and she shivered.

I realized that with fall coming, it was chillier than normal. I couldn't tell. I tried to standup, but she grabbed my hand and pulled me back down. I pulled her into my lap and folded my arms over her.

"That's better." She said.

I smiled and kissed the top of her head, while holding her more snuggly.

We just sat there until it got dark. Then she jumped up and started walking to the house.

"What's the matter?" I called after her, as I got up and followed her.

"I have to go, I told my parents I'd be home before it got dark." She called back. I caught up with her easily and wrapped an arm around her waist.

She smiled and leaned into my side.

"I'll walk you home." I said.

She looked like she was going to protest, but didn't.

As we neared her house, I pulled her into a hug and then kissed her lightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I said as we got to her door.

"Bye-bye." She called.

"Bye." I said.

I watched her walk in and then walked home, smiling to myself.


	4. The Bonfire Start

Kim's POV

I got home and immediately went to my room as I called good-night to my parents. I needed a little time to process the information I had just received.

Ok, werewolf, big, brown, nice. I smiled as I remember how he had tried to lick me. And the way he had held me when I got cold. I hadn't even been that cold, I just wanted to see what he would do. Plus, it felt very nice to have him hold me.

A ring interrupted my thinking. I had just recently got a phone, after I proved I could keep my grades up. I checked who was calling and saw it was Anna.

"Hello?" I asked.

"I was waiting for you to call me!" She said.

"Sorry! I just got home!" I told her.

"Oh. Did you kiss?"

I waited to make her ask again because Ana never is into guy stuff, that's Charlotte's department.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Yeah. We did." I admitted.

"Ooh!" She said.

I laughed.

"So is his house nice?" she asked.

"Yes! There were tons of windows, so it was really pretty!" I exclaimed.

"Awesome. What did you guys talk about?" She asked.

I hesitated, knowing without being told I couldn't tell anyone about this secret.

"We just kinda sat there, and then I shivered and he pulled me onto his lap after he tried to get up and I pulled him back down." I said excitedly.

"Oh! That's so sweet!"

"Yeah." I agreed.

"So, I was wondering…" She trailed off.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Well, are you to busy with your new boyfriend to hang out with me and Charlotte at your place to make cookies?" She begged.

"No! That would be awesome! You know, I suddenly have a craving for chocolate-chip cookies…" I said. "But is it ok if Jared comes?" I sort of whispered the last part.

"Of course! I really want to meet him!" She said at once.

"Great! Ok, I got to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Anna." I said

"Bye Kim."

We hung up and I got ready for bed. It was only nine, but I was exhausted. Must be the shock of finding out you have a soul-mate, and that that soul-mate happens to be a werewolf…

The next day was perfect, I met Jared and we walked to class. Same as the day before. Just that one little thing about him being a werewolf… I think it is awesome! Like, I am scared, but in awe at the same time. And confused, I don't get why he chose me.

Soon, school was over and we had plans to meet at my house. Jared and I arrived first because Charlotte and Anna were going to get gas in the car. (It's Anna's mom's car) We got home and I was nervous. Jared had never seen my house. It was ok, my house is kinda old but in a pretty way, and it was pretty clean.

I saw him look over everything. He smiled and said," I love your house."

I hugged him and breathed a small sigh of relief. He pulled me closer to him and I buried my head in his chest.

"So, there is this bonfire with the pack." He started out.

I could hear the hesitation in his voice.

I smiled. "And?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come?" He asked.

"Of course! That sounds like fun. Who all is going to be there?" I asked.

"Sam, Emily, Paul, Embry, Quil, Jacob, Seth, Leah, Bella, Billy, Old Quil, and Sue." He said.

"Who's Emily and Bella?" I asked, I had heard of everyone but them.

"Emily is Sam's fiancé and his soul-mate and Bella is Jake's friend. Who he happens to love. Who happens to love the Cullen kid." He said bitterly.

I was shocked to hear him say that so harshly.

W"What's wrong with the Cullens? They seem very nice." I asked, defending them.

"Sure, if you happen to overlook the fact they are vampires." He said, but the bitterness was gone, replaced with concern.

"Vampires?" I managed to say.

"Yeah, they are the reason werewolves even exist, to kill vampires."

"Then why didn't you kill them?" I asked.

"Because we have a treaty with them not to harm each other." He said. "We were outnumbered when they arrived 70 years ago, so we have honored it ever since."

"Well. I'm glad they are here." I said stubbornly.

"What?" He asked, looking shocked.

"If they weren't here, you wouldn't be a werewolf, and you never would have noticed me." I said, choking back tears.

"That's not true!" He protested at once. "Imprinting is just a pull in the right direction, I would have realized that you're the one for me!" He said as he hugged me tighter and pulled me to the couch. Once we were on the couch, he started rubbing my back.

Then he said" We should get up, Anna and Charlotte are here."

I nodded and went in the kitchen to get out the supplies for cookies.

"We're here!" Charlotte's voice called.

"We're in the kitchen!" I called back.

"So what did you two do while we were gone?" Charlotte asked mischievously.

"Nothing, we just talked about this party we are going to." I said.

"Cool, where?" Anna asked.

"I'm not sure." I said as I looked to Jared.

"On the cliff, it's a bonfire." He explained.

"Fun." She said.

Then we started to make them because we got too hungry to wait any longer. While they were baking, I pulled Jared's hand and we walked outside, ignoring the amused glances Anna and Charlotte were sharing.

"So, is this a party or a meeting?" I asked as I sat on the ground, immediately standing up again because the ground was cold! Jared ignored me standing up and sat down., then pulled me on his lap.

"Both, but not so much party as… social gathering." He grinned down at me.

"Cool." I said as I pushed myself closer to his chest, this warm werewolf thing is pretty awesome.

He seemed to understand and put his arms around me.

"When is it?" I asked.

"Saturday." He said.

"So tomorrow." I verified.

"Yes."

"We should go back, if the cookies get done before we are in there, they will eat them all." I told him. He started to laugh but then realized I was serious. We got there just in time to snag a couple and we all want and watched t.v. in my living room.

"Ok, see you later!" I called to Anna and Charlotte as the left..

"Bye-bye!" They called.

"So, when do you have to leave?" I asked.

"Whenever." He shrugged.

"Ok, well, it's 7:00 now, my parents will be home at 8, what do you want to do till then?" I asked.

"Whatever you want." He said.

"Great. How bout I give you a tour?" I offered.

"Sure." He agreed.

Qiuckly I showed him the basement and the first floor, which had my little sister Olivia's room, my parents, and a bathroom. Then I showed him my bedroom, which is on the second floor. It is light purple with a white desk and a purple chair.

"I like it." He said.

"Of course you do." I teased.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"Well, even if you didn't like it, you would say you did, just to make me happy." I said.

"But I do like it!"

"I know." I said.

We sat on my bed and talked about anything and everything until it was 7:50.

"I better go." He said, looking at his watch.

"Oh." I said, disappointed.

"I agree." He said as he took my hand and we walked down stairs.

"I'll see you tomorrow. How about I pick you up around 11 and we have a picnic? And I could meet your parents." He said.

"Sounds good. What should I bring?" Um, how bout potato chips?"

"I can do that." I said and we kissed good night.

"Bye Kim." He said as he melted into the night.

"Bye." I called.

**Please review!!!!!! If you do, I will consider them my Christmas presents!!!! I really like feed back, so, review! Tell me if you like it so far, or if you would like more of a character or abything. Thanks for reading!!!!**


	5. The Bonfire

**Kim's POV**

**The next morning, I woke up around nine and got dressed in a pair of capris and a cute light blue tee-shirt. I walked down stairs and ate a little cereal. **

**I was sort of anxious, so I got the chips ready, just to give myself something to do. I glanced at the clock and was sorry to see I still had a while to go before Jared was going to come. I decided to read one of my favorite books, ****A Ring of Endless Lights****, (Authors note: This is really an awesome book, so you should check it out!) **

As I reached my favorite part, my little sister came out of her room.

"Hey, Livvy." I called as she walked into the living room.

"Hi." She said. Did I mention she is NOT a morning person? Her 10th birthday is coming up soon. "Will you play with me today?" She asked.

"Sorry, but I have plans." I said.

"With Anna?" She asked excitedly. She loves Anna. As much as she loves me, I am pretty sure she would trade me for Anna in a heartbeat.

"No, with Jared."

"Who's Jared?" She asked.

"Jared is my… boyfriend." That word sounded so weird coming from my lips.

"You have a boyfriend?" She asked, her eyes widening. "Does Mommy know?"

"I'm gonna tell her when she wakes up." I told her.

"Wait till she has her first cup of coffee." Olivia advised. Sometimes I forget how smart she is. "You should probably make it now, to make her happier." She continued.

"Good idea." I agreed, loving my sister at the moment.

I got up and started making coffee, and sure enough, my mother emerged from her room when the coffee was made.

"You made coffee?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said causally.

"Ok." She seemed sort of bewildered, but she would find out soon.

Once she had her first cup and she got a second, I took a deep breath and said, "Mom, I need to talk to you."

She blinked at me and smiled. "I take it, this is good news?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said. "Mom, I have a boyfriend. Is it ok if he comes over today to meet you?" I said quickly, fearing what she would say.

"That would be wonderful, Sweetheart, Your father and I would love to meet your boyfriend. What's his name?" She asked, intrigued.

"His name is Jared. He goes to school with me." I told her.

"Is he cute?" She asked.

I laughed and said, "Yeah."

"When is he coming over?" She asked.

"11. We are going on a picnic and then this evening, we are going to a bonfire with his friends."

"Fun." She said, then she looked at the clock and said, "If he's coming over at 11, I want to be ready."

I looked at the clock and agreed, it was almost 10. My mom never sleeps in, she must have been tired.

I helped Olivia get ready (I picked out her clothes, she wanted to make a good impression on Jared)

And my mom got my dad up. We were all presentable by 10:45.

I picked up my book and started reading. Before I knew it, Jared knocked at the door. I jumped up and got the door open. He looked very handsome, with jean shorts and a green shirt, carrying a basket, which I assumed had the food in it.

"Hi." I said.

"Hello, you look very pretty today." He said.

I blushed and took him by his hand to pull him over to the empty chair in front of the couch my parents were sitting on.

"Hello, Jared." My mom said.

"Hello Mrs. Johnson." He said. "Hi Mr. Johnson."

"Hello Jared." He responded.

"So what is the plan for today?" He asked Jared.

"Well, first we are going to go on a picnic, then tonight we are going to a bonfire with my friends." He said.

"Sounds like fun. What time will Kim be back?" My father asked.

"Well, what time does she have to be back?" Jared asked.

"Does the party have a ending time?" He asked.

"Well, pretty late, around 12 or 1. Is that ok?" He asked.

"How about 12:45?" My mom suggested.

I threw her a grateful look and she smiled.

"Perfect." Jared replied.

"Should I bring my keys or will you be up?" I asked my mom.

"Oh, I will be up." She assured me, planning to bombard me with questions, I'm sure.

I grabbed the chips and kissed my parents goodbye and we left the house.

"Your parents seem nice." He observed.

"Yeah, they are pretty great." I agreed.

"Is your sister scared of me or something? Because she didn't say one word to me." Jared said, confused.

"Oh, she's like that with new people, don't mind her." I said.

"Ok."

"Where are we going?" I asked, as we walked.

"Somewhere." He said mischievously and he grinned.

I sighed theatrically and smiled when he rolled his eyes.

"Come on, you'll love it." He said, smiling.

"If you say so." I said jokingly.

"We walked a while and came to a little secluded spot with lots of green grass and trees. It was beautiful.

"It's beautiful." I said, repeating my thoughts.

"I told you you would like it." He whispered as he pulled me into his arms.

I smiled and hugged him back tightly and as he started to pull away, pushed my lips to his.

He pulled me closer again and deepened the kiss. After a while, I pulled away and just rested my head on his chest. He held me there for a moment and then pulled away to open the basket. With a flourish, he produced a blanket, which he laid on the ground. He sat on it and waited for me to sit on his lap. I did and we just sat there for little bit.

Then we got hungry, so we took out the food. He had brought ham sandwiches with a bowl of cantaloupe and chocolate cake.

"Did your mom make this cake?" I asked as we ate it. It was really good cake. Like, if I wasn't so full from the sandwiches I would of eaten the whole thing. Well, not quite the whole thing, but you get it, it was good.

He pretended to be hurt, "You don't think I can cook?"

"No, I know you can't cool." I teased.

"Yeah, your right, my mom made it." He agreed.

"Well, it might just be the best cake I have ever tasted." I said.

"I'll tell her." He said.

"So, my parents know we're dating, what about yours?" I asked.

"They will soon. I'm planning on telling them tomorrow." He said.

"Ok." I was so full that I just leaned against Jared. He didn't mind, he just shifted so it was more comfortable for me.

"What time does the bonfire start?" I asked.

"Around 6." He said, looking at his watch.

"And what time is it now?"

"About 1." He responded.

"What are we going to do for the next 5 hours?" I asked.

"I thought we could go to San and Emily's place and introduce you. Emily will help it not be so overwhelming." He explained.

"And Sam is…" I asked.

"Sam is the leader. Emily is his soul mate." He answered.

"How common is this imprint thing?" I asked.

"Well, it's only happened to Sam and I, the legends say it's very rare." He looked thoughtful.

"Cool." I said.

"One thing. When you meet Emily, don't stare at her face. She had an accident, and her face is mauled. Just ignore it, cause Emily's a great person."

"Ok." I agreed.

We started cleaning up. Once we were done, we walked over to Sam's.

"Emily! How are you?" He asked, as he greeted a beautiful woman, with a horrible scar on the side of her face.

"I'm good. How are you? And this must be Kim." She said.

"Yeah, this is Kim. I'm good. Where is Sam?" He asked.

"He's in the back." She laughed as he kissed me quickly on the cheek and walked to the backyard of the house.

"Hello, I'm Emily." She greeted me.

"Hi, I'm Kim." I said.

"Trust me, I know. It's all Jared's been talking about lately."

I blushed and smiled.

"So, Jared said you would help it not be so weird." I said, trying to find something to say.

"Yeah, we thought it'd be best of you knew someone besides Jared, then it wouldn't be so overwhelming." She explained.

"Cool." I said as she led me into her house. It was beautiful, with little room, but very cozy.

It turned out Emily and I had a lot in common, we talked the whole time until Sam and Jared walked in and asked us if we were ready to go.

We were startled, we hadn't even noticed the time.

"Sure." I said, getting to my feet.

We walked the little way to the bonfire site.

We got there and Paul, Embry, Quil, Old Quil, Billy, Sue, Leah, and Seth were there.

"Hey it's Kim!" Someone shouted, I think it was Embry.

"Hi Kim." Paul said.

"Hi everyone." I said awkwardly.

Jared, sensing my discomfort, sat down and pulled me against him. Soon, everyone was there. Bell Swan was there. I studied her carefully, she was very pretty, with pale skin and dark brown hair and eyes. She seemed wary at first, until the guys started teasing her. Then she smiled and seemed to perk up a bit.

I sensed her studying me, but I ignored her and focused on Jared. I lost count of how many hot dogs he ate after he ate his 9th . Plus lots of chips and soda. I wonder if he had been full at lunch…

I caught his eyes on me a lot, therefore making me blush and look down, but never for long. I couldn't keep my gaze from him for long. After everyone ate their food, Jacob whispered something to Bella, then said a few sentences a bit louder, I strained to hear him. After he said that, Billy started talking, telling a story actually. It was very interesting, but I found myself nodding off against Jared's chest. He just shifted so I was more in his lap, and then I was more comfortable.

I must have fallen asleep during the story, because Jared was gently shaking my shoulder.

"Kim, we have to get home." He said softly.

I looked around and saw Bella sleeping on Jacob's shoulder, which he seemed to be quite happy about. Emily was wide awake and everyone else as well.

I got to my feet a bit unsteadily and Jared wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Bye Emily." I called softly. She waved goodbye and smiled.

We walked home like that, Jared half carrying me, because I kept almost falling asleep.

"You don't stay up very late, do you?" I could tell he was smiling by his tone.

"No." I said. We got to my house and he brought me to the door.

"Good night." He said and kissed me gently.

"Bye," I said.

I walked in the door and he disappeared.

My mom was waiting but she saw how tired I was, and just said, "Sleep well, honey."

"Night Mom" I said.

**Thanks for reading! Sorry I took sooo long to update, but my computer was being rude and kept deleting my other story, so I was kinda worried that it would delete this one to! Please review! **


	6. Picnic

Kim's POV

I awoke to the sunlight pouring in through the window and stretched . I glanced over to my clock and blinked as I saw it said 10:45. I am usually up by 9. I can smell bacon so I hurry up and get downstairs.

"Hey, Mom" I yawn as I grab a plate and start loading French toast and bacon on it.

"Morning Sweetie. How did you sleep?" She asked.

"Really good. I can't believe I was asleep till almost 11, though." I said as I sat down on the couch and started to eat.

"How was last night?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Mom! It was fun, the elders told us the legends. I fell asleep halfway through them though." I admitted.

"Sounds like fun. Jared called. He wants you to call him back." She said.

I grinned and finished eating quickly. I got up and practically ran to the phone.

"His number is by the phone." My mom said helpfully.

"Thanks." I said, as I dialed the number.

"Hello, is Jared there?" I asked as a female's voice answered.

"Yes, one moment." She said "Jared!" She called.

There was some talking and then Jared's voice came on, "Hello?"

"Hey, Jared." I said quietly.

"Kim!" He exclaimed.

"Hi, you said to call you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, it's a really beautiful day, do you want to go to the beach? We could stop by Emily's and get some food." He asked.

"One second, I need to ask." He agreed and before I could even ask, my Mom started laughing and said yes.

"She said it's fine. Why don't we go a little early and I could help her make the food?" I suggested.

"Sure, if you want to. But don't feel like you have to, Emily cooks for us all the time." He said.

"I like to cook, though, it's ok." I told him.

"Ok. Why don't I come get you, and we can walk over together?"

"Sounds great, see you in a few minutes."

I went and got dressed and when I was finishing my hair, I heard, "Kim! Jared's here."

"One sec!" I called back as I started down the stairs. I heard Olivia's voice and was surprised. Sure enough, when I got down there, she and Jared were talking.

"Kim! I like your boyfriend!" Olivia called out excitedly, as I blush.

"Glad you approve." I joked.

"You should be! My opinion matters!" She said defiantly.

"I know Sweetie. We have to go now. Bye Mom!" I called.

"Bye. Love you. Don't forget the blanket!" She called from the kitchen.

I ran back and grabbed it and then smiled as we stepped into the sun.

"That's really weird." I mused.

"What?" Jared asked, walking beside me.

"That she liked you so well, Olivia rarely likes anyone so fast."

"Well, I am very likable and handsome." He joked.

"That's what you think…" I said, tying to get him to laugh.

"Hey! That's not nice!" He said as he scooped me up in his arms.

"Hey! Put me down!" I exclaimed, struggling to get down.

"Not till you say I am likable and handsome!" He said with a grin.

"Then you will have to carry me forever!" I said dramatically.

"You're mean! I guess I will have to…" He trailed off with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Then he started to tickle me.

"That's… not… fair!" I said, laughing and glaring at the same time.

"Say it!" He persisted.

"Fine! You are handsome and likable! Now put me down!" I said loudly.

"Ha! I win!' He said triumphantly.

"By cheating." I muttered, but of course he heard me.

"Well, I still won!" He said, laughing.

"Ugh!" I said, and paused as we arrived at the door.

"Just go in, they're expecting us." Jared said from behind me.

"Sam, we're here!" Jared called. After a moment, Emily came walking around the corner.

"Hello! How are you?" She asked.

"Fine, how are you" I asked.

"Quite good. Sam's in the living room." She added to Jared.

"Cool." He said as he kissed me on the cheek and left the room.

"So, what do you want to make?" She asked me.

"I don't know, what do you feel like making?" I answered.

"How about… fried chicken, salad, fruit, and brownies?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Sounds perfect!" I said excitedly. I love to cook.

"Why don't you start the brownies and I will start the chicken?" She asked.

"Sounds good." I said, I had no idea how to make fried chicken, but I did know how to make brownies.

After getting most of the ingredient, I asked, 'Where is the sugar?"

"In the pantry." She said.

"After a little bit, I had the brownies in the oven . I then asked, "What should I do now?"

"Could you start cutting the watermelon?"

"Sure." We joked and talked the whole time we were talking. She was so nice and easy to talk to.

A while later the chicken was done and the brownies were almost done.

"Oh, it smells sooo good!" I said as I sniffed the air deeply.

"Apparently the guys think so too." She said and gestured to the door, sure enough the guys were standing there, waiting for us to notice them.

"Come on in." Emily said, laughing.

Sam looked pleadingly at her and she smiled and said, "Don't worry, I made extra for us." He smiled.

Once the brownies were done and cut, we were set to go.

"Thank you so much for doing this, Emily." I said as we walked to the door.

"Don't worry about it." She said.

"Bye, guys." We called as we left.

"She's so great." I said admiringly.

"Yeah, so are you." Jared said, looking at me and smiling slightly.

We got to the beach and set the blanket down.

"This is sooooo good." I said as I bit into some chicken.

"Yeah, Emily's a great cook. She kinda has to be, since we are always over there, eating." He grinned.

"You should help her!" I accused while smiling.

"Well, I would, but now, you are here, and you can cook…" He trailed off and smiled as I made a face.

I lightly punched his arm, while noticing how hard his arm was. I made a mental note, so I wouldn't hurt myself by accident later.

"Just kidding." He said.

"Sure you were." I agreed.

He just smiled. Once we (Mainly Jared) finished the chicken, salad, and fruit, I pulled the brownies out.

Jared took a huge one and ate it quickly.

"This is so good!" He said.

I took one and bit into it. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I ate three brownies, and was full. While Jared ate the rest of them.

Once we were done, we just sat there and watched the beach.

"Let's build a sandcastle!" I suggested smiling as I noticed a little girl building one.

"A sandcastle? "He questioned, looking puzzled.

"Yeah, you know, a castle made out of sand?"

He made a face at my sarcasm and nodded.

We moved the blanket and started building. After a while, it started to resemble a castle.

"It's so pretty." I said happily.

He smiled at my words and kissed me softly.

I kissed back quickly, but then pulled back to work on the castle.

He pulled a face, but I just smiled at him till he started working. I loved being able to make him do things. Not, that I would use it, just when I need it…

Soon, it was done, complete with a moat and windows, well, they were seashells, but it looked pretty.

"I am so tired." I announced, leaning back on him.

He moved and pulled me in to his lap.

"You didn't do anything all day." He protested, as he kissed my neck.

I squirmed and said," Well, I'm still tired."

He laughed and stopped talking, just watching the sunset.

"I should get home." I said as the sun got lower.

"Ok." He said as he started folding the blanket.

He held the basket in one hand, and my hand in the other.

We got home and said good night at the door.

"I'll see you at school." I said, blushing as he looked in my eyes as if I were the best thing in the world.

"Bye, Kim." He said as he started walking away.

"Love you." I said quietly, but this time his werewolf ears didn't pick up on it.

I got in the house and went to say good night to my parents.

"Night, Honey. Sleep well." They said.

I got upstairs and got into bed. Tomorrow would be good, I thought as I drifted off to sleep/

**I do not own any of these characters except Anna and Charlotte. Please review! I really love reviews! They honestly make my day!!!! Plus if you review, I will answer AND check out your stories if you have any! So, please review!**


	7. Don't ignore! Please read!

Hey! Yeah, this is an author's note, but please read! It's important!!

Ok, so in my story, I would like to have a wolf imprint on either Anna pr Charlotte, but I can't choose Anna or Charlotte and with which wolf! I was kinda thinking that I would do Anna OR Charlotte, but I am open to suggestions.

There is a poll on my profile, or you can just PM me your thoughts. But, I would rather it not be a wolf who already has a imprintee. I would like to get this storyline in the next chapter, so please tell me as soon as possible! The sooner I get results, the sooner I get the next chapter up!

Thanks!

Allie


	8. Meeting the Family

**I am sooooo sorry for not writing sooner. It's just that school was crazy right up until we got out, and then time just got away from me! So, sorry again!**

Kim's POV

I woke up and smiled, remembering the night before. Then I looked at my clock and jumped out of bed, it was really late. I got dressed, skipping my make-up for the day, and ran downstairs.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?" Came her reply.

"Where are the pop-tarts?" I asked hurriedly.

"Um… did you check the counter?"

"Yeah." I answered almost before she was done speaking.

"Check the pantry."

I found them and ate it on my way out the door. Once I got to school, I found Anna and told her about the day before. As soon as I finished, she smiled and went off on how she needed to find a guy like Jared.

"Don't worry, you will." What happened to Nicko?" I asked, intrigued.

"Oh." She bit her lip and looked away," He's kinda a jerk. On our date we ran into some of his friends and he like completely ignored me until they left. Then I asked him to take me home, he couldn't figure out why I was mad."

"Oh, don't worry, he isn't worthy of you." I said fiercely and hugged her.

"Thanks." She said. Then Jared walked over.

"Hey Kim." He said as he hugged me, then "Hi Anna."

"Hey, how are you?" She asked him.

"Good." He said. "Hey, we need to talk." He said as he pulled me slightly away from Anna.

"Ok, talk." I said, a bit confused.

"Not here, can you come to my house today after school?"

"I have to ask, but I'm sure it's fine." I got my phone out and quickly sent a text to my mom.

"Yeah, it's fine." I said, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"We got to get to class." He said, pulling me towards our first class.

"Ok." I said, bewildered.

The whole rest of the day, I was disoriented, trying to figure out what was wrong. It couldn't be that bad, could it? I mean, Jared would tell me if something were really bad.

When the end of the day finally came, I hurried and tried to find Jared. Instead, I ran into Charlotte.

"Hey, you coming to Anna's today?"

"No, not today." I said, trying to be sharp with her. After all, it wasn't her fault.

"Ok, see you tomorrow!" She called over her shoulder.

"Hey." A voice called.

I immediately relaxed and turned around to see Jared.

"I've been looking for you! Where have you been?"

"Looking for you." He smiled at me. It couldn't be that bad, if he was being so nice.

"Let's go." He said, almost jerking my arm. Ok, maybe it was.

The moment we were inside his house, he pulled me to his room.

"Ok, before we start, I have a question." I said.

"Ok, what is it?"

"Does your family know about your werewolf thing?"

"Yeah, but not much, like not what I'm gonna tell you."

"Ok, you really got to tell me what's going on!" I complained.

"Ok." He started and turned around so he was looking me fight in the eye.

"Remember how I told you about the vampires?"

I nodded.

"Well, there are more of them, not friendly ones. They … aren't as good as the Cullens. They are having issues and I'm worried something might happen to you if they come closer." He said quickly, trying to find the right words.

I was confused. "Why would they hurt me? If they are after the Cullens, then shouldn't…" I trailed off as I put it together, vampires like to hunt humans, and I am a human. "Oh." I said as my eyes widened.

"Yeah." He agreed as he pulled me close to his side. "But I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

As soon as he said that, I relaxed. Jared was trustworthy, if he said it, he meant it.

I tried to change the subject, "So when do I get to meet your family?"

I saw him smile as he saw that I was trying to get off the vampire subject.

"Is today ok? I'm sure you could stay for dinner. My mom really wants to meet you, I told her last night." He added guiltily as I looked at him.

I laughed, "That's cool, just let me call my mom." I got up and quickly called her.

"Hey, is it ok if I stay for dinner, Jared's mom wants to meet me."

"Sure honey, be sure to make a good impression, and be polite." She reminded me.

"I know Mom, I love you. What time should I be home?"

"Well, if you have a lot of homework, right after dinner, otherwise around 7, if that's ok with them."

"Don't worry, I won't stay to long, bye!"

"Bye sweetie, I love you."

I hung up and looked at Jared.

"So, I can stay as long as I don't wear out my welcome." I joked.

He glanced at me and said," You won't ever wear out your welcome."

"I have another question."

"Yeah?" He sounded interested.

"Can you hear the conversation when I'm on the phone?"

He looked a bit guilty and said yes.

"That's cool." I said as I leaned against him again.

"Ok…" He said, I stifled a laugh as I assumed he had been expecting an angry tirade.

He moved slightly and said," My mom is home. We should go sit in the living room to be ready for her."

"Ok." I said happily, as we moved. Just being with Jared helped me be in a better mood.

We sat for about a minute on the couch until a pretty woman with dark coloring like the rest of us walked in.

She looked a bit worn, but her smile brightened up her face as she saw her son and then me.

"This must be the famous Kim." She said as she set her bag next to the table and took a sear in the chair across from us.

I looked at him, trying to figure out what the famous part meant, but he just said "Yes, this is Kim."

I glared at him for a second playfully, and then said," It's really nice to meet you Ms. Thai."

"Oh, no need for that, call me Laura."

I smiled and said," Ok, thanks Laura. I think your house is beautiful!"

"Thank you dear! I love designing homes." She smiled at me. I instantly liked her. She just had this personality that made you like her, sort of like my mom.

"So, what's for dinner?" Jared asked.

She laughed and rolled her eyes at me," He is always hungry! It's amazing we haven't gone broke feeding him."

I laughed with her and smiled at Jared when he feigned being hurt.

"And to answer your question. I don't know, I was waiting to see what Kim would like." She replied, looking at me.

"Oh, um I don't know. What do you have?" I asked, blushing.

"We have meatloaf, hamburgers, and, spaghetti, any of those sound good?"

"Oh, meatloaf does." I said happily, I hadn't had meatloaf in a long time.

"Sounds great, but it will be a little bit, do you guys want to watch TV. or something?"

"I could help if you like?" I offered.

"Oh no Dear, that's not necessary."

"Mom, Kim likes to cook, she helped Emily make our picnic."

"Well, if you want to, I would love some help." Laura smiled at me.

We got up and I helped find ingredients while she found the recipe.

"So, Jared said he had a sister. What's her name?"

"Oh, it's Caitlyn, and she is a year older than you and Jared." She said while mixing some things together in a bowl.

"Oh, that's cool. Will she be here tonight?"

"Yes, she just stayed after school to study for her test."

We started talking about school and things, getting to know each other better. She was even better than my first impression had been.

A few minutes before the meatloaf was ready, a girl walked in, who I assumed to be Caitlyn.

"Hi Mom" She said as she gave her a hug.

"Oh, you must be Kim, Jared's been talking about you all the time." She said as she stuck her hand out. "I'm Caitlyn."

I shook her hand and glanced at Jared, he was blushing. I smiled back at him.

"Anything I can do to help?" She asked as she dumped her school bag next to the door.

"Why don't you grab some fruit from the fridge?" Her mom said in reply.

"Kay."

We made some small talk as the meatloaf finished cooking. Caitlyn seemed super nice, just like her mom.

As we sat down, Jared managed to move the chairs so we were sitting next to each other. I blushed, but no one seemed to mind.

"We're just going to start eating, because Jared's father gets home late." Laura said, to my confused look,

I nodded.. To my side, Jared was already digging in, with his plate full with meatloaf, fruit, and potatoes.

I smiled, and Caitlyn burst out laughing.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"No, it's not you, it's Jared, how he just sits there and eats." She laughed again.

Jared glared at her, but I thought it was funny, I already liked Caitlyn.

Then, in an effort to prove Caitlyn wrong, he stopped eating so much and tried to start a conversation.

"Mom, did you hear about Caitlyn's last math test?" He grinned at her, while she looked shocked.

"We are not going to discuss this here, with your guest." Laura said evenly.

I bit my lip, and sent a sorry look to Caitlyn. She nodded, so I could tell it wasn't that bad.

I poked Jared's side, and hissed, "That wasn't very nice."

"Oh, she had it coming." He said lazily, almost done with his mountain of food.

"Still wasn't nice. You should say sorry." I enjoyed doing this, and was waiting to see if her would actually do it.

He sighed, and said," I am deeply sorry for telling Mom about your test." Then he looked at me and asked," Better?"

"A little." I said, playing with him, but my smile gave it away.

"Thanks Kim." Caitlyn said.

Jared looked up sharply," I'm the one who apologized!"

"But Kim's the one who made you. I like you Kim, I'm glad Jared chose someone so nice."

I smiled, happy she liked me.

After dinner, we watched TV with everyone, even Jared's dad, who ate dinner on the couch, with the rest of us. Like Jared's mom and sister, he was extremely nice.

I looked at my watch after a while and realized that it was time for me to go. I go up and thanked Laura for the meal.

"Thanks for having me, it was fun." I said to everyone, while turning to leave.

"Are you going to walk her home Jared?" His father asked.

"Of course." He said, also getting up.

"Thanks again! " I said on out way out, When we got outside, I leaned against Jared's side and said," That was so much fun! I love your family."

"I'm glad." He said, looking at me.

"But why did they all know who I was, and how am I "famous"?

He blushed, and said," Well, I might have talked about you a lot, maybe." HE said nervously.

"Well, what did you tell them? "Nothing bad?"

"What is there bad to tell?" HE said, hugging me closer. I smiled and just stood there, hugging him. It felt right.

I got home, and we said good night. I got inside, and went right to my room, after telling my mom how nice his family was.

I called Anna. When she answered, I felt like something wasn't right, so I asked her.

"Um, I don't know… wait? I can tell her?" She said to someone in the background.

"Ok, Kim? I have something to tell you." She sounded really nervous.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Um, you know you and Jared, well it kinda happened to me and Embry." She said, both excited and nervous.

"Embry imprinted on you?"

"Yeah."

"That is amazing! Now we don't have to hide secrets from each other! Are you with him right now?"

"Yes, so Jared imprinted on you?"

"Yeah." I said.

"Well, now I know how he got over me so fast." She said teasingly.

I laughed, happy that one of my best friends knew my biggest secret.

"But, Anna, what about Charlotte?"

"What about her?"

"We can't tell her! And then she'll be so left out!"

"Maybe someone will imprint on her?"

"Maybe." I was still happy from dinner, and now confused about what to do with Charlotte.

"Well, I got to go. See you tomorrow!"

"Bye Anna, see you tomorrow."

With that, I went to bed, thinking about what to do.

**Please review, I love getting them! If you have any advice for me, or anything, the button is right there!**


	9. Another Author's Note, but Important!

I just want to say, that I am soooooooooooooooooo unbelievably sorry for how long it has taken me to update. I just started high school this year, and I spent the first month adjusting, and the rest of the time doing all of my homework.

Between school work, and my actual job, I haven't had time to even think most days, and I know that is not an excuse! But, please, keep reading when I update, but until then, this story is officially stalled, or finished, or whatever it's called, until I can get my life back under control.

Please forgive me and don't give up on me or my stories! I love you all soooo much for just reading, and even more, reviewing!

Allie


	10. Time, Trust, and Tears

**Ok, I really hadn't planned on writing this now, so if it's horrible, I apologize. I really just had an inspirational feeling right now, thanks to one of my best friends, Martha! If you're reading this, I dedicate this chapter to you! Again, I am so sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoy!**

Kim's POV

As I woke up, I smiled, remembering the night before with Anna and her secret. I got up; today I had plenty of time, and picked out my outfit. Just my favorite shirt and a pair of jeans, nothing special. A dab of make-up and I was set.

Coming downstairs, I poked my head in Olivia's room, she was still asleep.

"Livvy, time to get up." I called, and watched her roll over. I just sighed and left, Mom could deal with her later.

"Morning, Honey." Mom called as I walked in the kitchen.

"Morning." I grabbed a pop-tart and sat down by her.

We had a peaceful silence until she looked at the time.

"OLIVIA MARIE! You are going to be late for school!" She yelled as she walked closer to her room.

I smiled and decided to leave for school.

"Bye Mom, love you! Bye Livvy!"

I heard quiet good-byes as I left.

Once I got to school, I immediately started to look for Jared. Just when I was about to head to class, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist.

"Hey." He said sleepily.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm perf" He yawned. "ectly fine."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. We should really get to class." He said, as he didn't meet my gaze.

I let him off the hook, planning on interrogating him later, I wanted to ask if I could go home with him again after school, with Anna and Embry.

Classes went fast again, and it was lunch already.

Anna was the first one there.

"Where's Charlotte?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How are you?" She asked, grinning.

"Hi Anna, how are you?" I asked as I rolled my eyes.

"Great! Thanks for asking. And Charlotte is out sick today." She said the first part with a huge smile.

"Oh, that sucks! I hope she's ok. Anyway, I have to ask you something."

"Ok, what?"

"I was wondering, if Jared says yes, if you and Embry can come over to Jared's house after school, I want to know everything!" I said excitedly.

"If Jared says yes?"

"Yep, I kinda still have to ask him... small detail!" I said as I smiled.

"Oh, small detail." A deep voice that was obviously not Anna's said.

I slowly turned around and smiled up at Jared.

"Hi! You know, we were _just_ talking about you!" I tried to charm my way through it.

"Really? It kinda sounded like you were planning something that just sort of involved my house…"

I got up and hugged him, and he instantly pulled me closer and rested his head atop my own.

"Get a room." Anna joked.

We both sat down, and then Embry came up and kissed Anna.

"Anna! Get a room!" Jared and I both said.

She looked at us and grimaced." I deserved that one, I guess." She admitted.

"Yep, but anyway. Jared, can we all come to your house? Pretty please?"

He looked at me and waited.

"Jared!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah it's fine, I already asked my mom if you could come, she won't mind Embry and Anna."

"Yay! Wait, can you two come?" I directed the question at Embry and Anna.

"I can come. I always am free after school." Anna replied as she rolled her eyes.

"Good, how about you, Embry?"

"Yeah, unless Sam needs me?" This time it was directed at Jared.

"No, you're good, he wants to give you some time off to be with Anna."

"Cool, I'm in then."

"Great." I smiled.

"Excuse me? Kim, right?" A timid voice asked.

I looked up and saw the girl I had helped in the hallway, Eva.

"Hi! What can I do for you?" I asked, puzzled.

"Well, I was just wondering if I could sit with you today." She asked quietly.

"Of course! Sit right here!" I said, scooting over into Jared's side. He made a sound as I moved closer to him.

"Oh, like I hurt you!" I said.

"So, how are you?" Anna asked.

"Oh, fine." She said, but then she started to cry. Anna and I locked eyes, wondering what to do, while the guys just stood there shocked. Anna came around the table. I put my arm around her, and rubbed her back while Anna talked soothingly to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"My" _hiccup_ "boyfriend just broke" _hiccup_ "up with me." She finished, while slowing down her tears.

"Oh, I am so sorry! Don't worry, guys are really dumb, and you shouldn't stress over them!" Anna and I said, saying the speech we had practically rehearsed during the whole crush on Jared thing. The guys both made sounds of protest, but when I glared at them they quieted.

"Bathroom?" I mouthed to Anna. She nodded.

"Let's go to the bathroom and clean you up." Anna told her. We both put an arm around her and walked out of the cafeteria.

We handed her some paper towels and helped her fix her make-up.

Just as we were about to ask her some more questions about herself, the bell rang.

"Shoot!" I said. "Ok, here's my number." And I scribbled it on a piece of paper and handed it to her.

"Text me if you need someone to talk to!"

"Thank you so much, you have no idea how much you saved me!" The sincerity glowed in her eyes. Even though her eyes were slightly red, she was extremely pretty, with light brown hair and green eyes, and the same dark skin we all have.

"I think we do." Anna said gently as we walked out into the hallway.

"Anyways, we got to go. Text me later!" I called over my shoulder. She waved.

The rest of the day could not go fast enough! I was waiting for the meeting with the four of us, and hoping I could help more with Eva.

As soon as it was over, I practically ran to Jared's locker, beating him, to it.

"What a nice surprise." He said, smiling down at me.

"Hi." I said, as we hugged.

"Now hurry!" I said as I backed away.

He made a face, but did it. "Pushy, pushy!" He exclaimed, smiling again at me.

"Oh, you know it's only because I love your house, and your mom, and your-"

"Don't you dare say my sister!" He cut in.

I smiled and continued," And Caitlyn!" He shot me a look.

"What? I think she's sweet!"

"Why, thank you, Kim! I think you're pretty great!" A voice full of energy said.

"Caitlyn, go away." Jared said without even looking at her.

"So rude in front of your girlfriend, Jared!" She admonished him.

"Caitlyn!"

"Ok, ok. I have to go, see you at home after I get back from Abby's house."

"Bye, Caitlyn!" I called as she walked away.

"Bye, Kim!"

Jared just looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"Sorry if I like your sister!" I said, pretending to walk away, and smiling when he grabbed my arm and whirled me around to face him.

"And where do you think you're going?" He asked lazily.

"I was just leaving you to go to your house, you know, without you." I grinned at him.

"And how do you think that would work? You kinda need the person who lives there to get in the house."

I thought that over, and then sighed." I don't think I thought that through."

"I didn't think so."

"Ready?" I asked impatiently.

"Yep." He replied.

When we finally left, we had to find Anna and Embry, who might I add, make an extremely cute couple.

Once we got to Jared's house, we walked in, and there was a bright orange note taped to the fridge, saying:

Jared-

Hope your day was good, don't forget to be a good host until I get home and offer them food. Be polite, and tell Kim hello.

Love,

Mom

"Dude, your mom is right! Offer me food already!" Embry demanded.

"Embry! Be polite!" Anna exclaimed.

"Oh, he knows it's true, he needs to offer me food or else his mom will ground him!"

"That isn't very nice." She continued.

"Fine, Jared, can I please have some food to control my huge appetite?"

"I suppose." Jared decided.

We just hung out and talked till Anna and Embry decided to leave for their date.

"Oh, Kim, I forgot to ask, you wanna stay for dinner?"

As I was about to reply, someone else beat me to it.

"Jared, I believe I raised you better than that. Ask again, and politely." Laura said as she walked in the door.

"Kim, would you please grace us with your presence at our dinner table tonight? Better Mom?"

"Much." She approved.

"I would love to, thank you for inviting me." I smiled at Laura.

"Anytime, Kim. You know we love you here." She said.

I stayed for dinner, but left soon after, homework awaited me.

"Thank you so much for inviting me, I had a wonderful time."

"You're always welcome here, Kim. Have a nice night." Laura told me.

"Good night." I said to the family as Jared and I left.

"I really love your family, I said as I snuggled closer into Jared's arm. In response, he tightened his grip on me.

"Yeah, I know."

"So, why are you so tired?"

"Um, no reason." He said. "So, how was Eva after you left?"

"Nu huh, answer my question, please?" I mover a little bit away from him and stopped walking.

He realized that I had stopped and came back.

"Ok, Sam just has us doing some extra time, with the bad vampires in town."

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Kim, I'm fine, I can't be beat when I'm with my pack. Don't worry so much."

"Are you sure?" I persisted.

"Yes, I am fine! You have nothing to worry about!"

"Ok." I let him take my hand and pull me along, even though I wasn't fully convinced.

We got to my door, and kissed good-bye.

"See you tomorrow." I told him.

"Bye, Kim. I'll see you later!"

He waited till I was inside, then started walking home.

**I know, it's sort of a filler chapter, but I felt like this was pretty good for now. Thank you so much for sticking with me! I feel so much better for posting this, and I hope another will follow soon, so keep a look out! Please review! Reviews make me feel guilty, if I haven't updated in a while, so keep the reviews coming! Love you all just for reading, but I adore you even more if you leave me a review!**

**-Allie**


	11. The Attack

**I was really disappointed about the last chapter. Not even one review! But I guess that this chapter will have to be extra good and make up for the last one. Please review, even if you don't like it, because then I can change and make the next better! Criticism is part of writing; please help me be a better writer!**

Kim's POV

When I woke up, I remembered the night before, and tried to reassure myself that Jared wouldn't be hurt, at least not when he was with his pack.

I got dressed quickly, in a simple pair of jeans and a cute shirt I had bought recently with Anna and Charlotte. Speaking of Charlotte, I hoped she was in school today. She hadn't answered any texts.

After saying good bye to everyone, and I asked my mom if Jared could come over after school to study. She said yes. I left for school. To my great disappointment, Jared wasn't there. I was worried; he would only miss school if he absolutely had too. One, because it's school, and two, because I'm here. Not to sound conceited or anything… but Jared loves seeing me.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, mostly because I was waiting anxiously to go home and call Jared. Finally, the bell rang for the final time and I hurried home.

Luckily, I would have the house to myself until Olivia came home.

"Hello?" I heard Caitlyn's voice ask.

"Hey, it's Kim. I just wanted to know if Jared was there." I said.

"Sorry, he's not here right now. Should I tell him to call you back?"

"Um, could you ask him if he can just come over? I can give him what he missed today."

"Sure. Bye Kim!" She replied.

After that I just chilled, doing homework until Olivia came home.

"Hey, Sweetie." I called as she walked in the door.

"Hi, Kim!" She said happily. "I had such a good day today!"

"That's good." I said.

"Want to go outside and play for a while?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure." I hadn't played with her in a while.

We decided to play catch, just with a normal ball. It was fun. I had forgotten how much I love playing with her.

I didn't notice Olivia had stopped playing catch, until I noticed her eyes were looking curiously at something behind me.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A strangely cold voice asked.

I turned. It was an extremely pretty woman, around 25 with long, brown hair and strangely colored eyes. A shade of red. That was odd. Wait, why was she slowly advancing towards us? Then it clicked. She was a vampire.

"Olivia." I said sharply.

"Yes." She breathed from behind me, she had moved closer while I had been studying the woman.

"Go to the house. Don't look back and lock the door, I'll be inside in a minute. Ok?"

I could feel her trembling, but she nodded.

I walked slowly away from Olivia, trying to draw the woman's attention from her.

She laughed, obviously thinking my attempts were futile, which they probably were. But maybe if I could stall long enough, Jared would come by and save Olivia.

"What is it that you want?" I asked, sounding braver than I felt.

"You." She replied simply.

"I don't think that works for me." I tried sarcasm, it couldn't hurt. Plus, Olivia just made it in the house.

"Well, it does for me. Now, I tire of these games, I prefer to play with my food, not have it play with me." She said, her red eyes glittering with thirst.

She advanced slowly, savoring the fear in my eyes. I could just tell she loved every minute of this.

I back away, and cut my leg on something. I moved around it, not wasting time to see what it was. When I felt the smooth side of the garage against my back I stopped. I meant to be brave and not flinch, but when she lunged at me, I shrieked and closed my eyes. But the blow I was expecting never came. Instead, I heavy thud came to my ears.

I opened my eyes and saw the vampire pinned beneath a furry werewolf. I breathed a sigh of relief and stumbled away, going to stand between two other werewolves. Jacob, a human this time, came and hurried me into my house.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"I think so. Is Jared ok? Why are the other two just standing there? They should be helping him take care of that-that…" My voice trailed off, my mind just taking in what could have happened. I began to cry, much to my embarrassment.

"Hey, it's ok." Jacob said, somewhat awkwardly hugging me.

I heard him breathe a sigh of relief when the door opened.

A pair of familiar arms held me, as Jacob went outside.

"Are you ok?" Jared asked, very anxiously.

"I-I'm fine." I said through my tears. He pulled me closer in his arms and stroked my hair.

Suddenly, I bolted upright.

"Olivia! Where is she?" I asked, frantically.

"She's fine; Jacob and Paul went to check on her." He soothed.

I jumped up anyway.

"Kim!" She yelled when I came into the room. She ran and hugged me.

"I was so scared!"

"I know, Sweetie. Are you ok?" I asked.

"I'm fine."

"Now, Olivia." Paul started." Remember what we talked about. You can't tell anyone about this. It's a secret."

She nodded solemnly.

I just hugged her again.

"Um, my mom is going to be home soon, so I think you guys should leave." I said." Except for Jared, my mom said he could stay."

"Ok, good." He said, smiling.

Once everyone had left, Olivia went up to her room and I sat on the couch with Jared.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" I asked, resting my head against him.

"Caitlyn said you asked me to come over, so I was running with the pack, when one of the guys smelled her. We came running and got here just in time." He said.

"I'm so glad you did." I told him, my voice a bit muffled, seeing as I had buried my face in his chest when I remembered what had happened. He just stroked my back, until my back stopped being so rigid.

"Can you come up to my room tonight? You can sneak in, right?" I asked, worried.

"If it makes you feel better, of course." He said, smiling when he saw me smile.

"Thank you. Do you want to stay for dinner? Then we can do homework. Once you leave, you can come back a little after. Ok?" I asked, barely making it a question, knowing he would say yes.

"Of course." He said.

My parents came home and we ate. They couldn't tell anything was wrong, thank goodness. I had fixed up my leg, and put on a new pair of jeans to hide the cut.

Once we finished our homework, Jared said "good bye" to everyone and left.

Almost immediately after he left, I went upstairs, saying good night.

I opened my window and waited to hear his voice.

"Hey." He said casually, suddenly right next to me.

I blinked. "Hello." I said, in the same tone he used.

He climbed in, and hugged me. I relaxed and hugged him back.

"Now turn around." I ordered, trying to change into my pajamas. If I went downstairs into the bathroom to change, my parents would be suspicious.

"Alright." He said, easily. I changed quickly and climbed into bed. He stood there awkwardly, until I smiled.

"I don't expect you to not get any sleep! Come here." I patted my bed, which was a large queen one.

To my surprise, he blushed.

"We aren't going to do anything wrong!" I said, blushing now.

"Ok." He said, climbing on my bed, over the covers. Once he put his arm around me, I didn't need the covers either. I shrugged out from under them.

That night I fell asleep easier and faster than any other night. It was amazing.

I woke up to Jared gazing down at me. Of course, I blushed.

"Morning." He told me casually, as if we did this every morning.

"Good morning." I said, jumping out of bed. I made him turn around again as I got dressed, this time in a pair of leggings and a skirt with a tank top, making sure the leggings covered my cut.

"You should probably go; I'll see you in a little bit." I told him.

"Bye." He kissed me and left.

**Thanks for reading! Please, please, please, please, please, a thousand times review! I love you all! I will be forever grateful if you review!**

**Allie**


	12. Recovering

**Hey guys. I am really disappointed, only one review on last chapter! I didn't think it was quite that bad, but I guess so. I'll just have to step it up this one! Hope you guys like it! By the way, I own nothing except for Charlotte, Anna, and Kim's and Jared's families. Everything else is Stephanie Meyers'! And I realize some of the dates are off, but please ignore that! **

Kim's POV

I was still feeling a bit shaky when I left for school, and I think my mom could tell. She asked if I felt sick, I just said I was fine. I kind of wanted to stay home, but I would feel safer being by Jared. I left earlier than usual, getting away from her questions. Today I just felt awful, so I just put on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. No make-up.

I hoped Jared would be there. I knew Anna was there, she had texted me and said so. I found her quickly and explained what happened. She was horrified.

"And you're ok?" She asked frantically in a hushed voice, so no one would hear.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was so worried for Olivia, though." I said. "I'm glad Jared got there in time." I shuddered at what could have happened. As I finished my sentence, somebody came and stood by me. I could tell it was Jared. I turned and hugged him, and just stayed with his arm around me for a while.

"Are you doing better?" He asked concerned.

"Yes, I'm good." I smiled brightly and hoped he bought it.

He looked doubtful, but didn't push it. Embry and Paul joined us, which was a bit weird. Paul had stopped hanging out with Jared as much since he imprinted on me.

I tugged on Jared's arm and pulled him a little bit away from the group.

"Can you stay with me again tonight?" I asked.

"Of course, Kim." He smiled and hugged me again, I assume to reassure me it would be ok. "And you look really pretty today." He told me.

I looked down at what I was wearing. "Jared, I'm wearing sweats and no make-up." I stated.

"Why does that matter? You still look pretty." I blushed.

We walked back over to hear Embry say," Stay again? Has little Miss Kim been up to dirty things?" with a suggestive wink after.

Jared flicked the side of his head hard immediately.

"Kim wasn't feeling the best after," he lowered his voice, "the attack."

Embry rubbed his head, with a wince. "Sorry." He muttered, and looked to Anna for sympathy. She rolled her eyes at him and took my arm. We told our respective boyfriends that we would see them at lunch (Embry) and the next class (Jared).

"So, what's this with him staying over?" Anna asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Anna!" I exclaimed, blushing. She didn't say anything, merely looked at me till I spoke.

"I was still feeling pretty freaked out, so I asked Jared to stay the night with me. Nothing happened!" I explained.

"I bet that was fun." She replied.

"It was." I admitted. "I slept better last night that I have in a long time."

"That's good." She giggled at me. We decided it was time to head to class. School passed by quickly, for a change.

Jared came home with me. We did some homework and played a few games with Olivia. She loved being with Jared, especially after yesterday. I think she also felt safer with him. Jared finished up his game with Olivia and stood up, stretching.

"Let's go outside." I suggested. Olivia voted to stay inside.

We walked outside and my gaze flickered over an old lawn ornament that had little specks of red on it. I closed my eyes and turned away. That was what I had tripped over, cutting my leg. Jared apparently saw what I had been looking at, because his arms encased me and he spoke soothingly to me.

"It's ok, she's gone and she can't hurt you anymore."

"I know, I just keep on thinking what could have happened… if you hadn't come along in time." My voice got softer as I finished speaking.

His grip around me tightened and I could sense the force he was using to slowly lower the pressure on me. When his grip loosened some, he let out a sigh.

"Hey, look at me." He said gently. I obliged, looking into his light brown eyes.

"I promised you I wouldn't let anything hurt you, and I will keep that promise. Ok?" He asked anxiously.

I nodded and leaned up to kiss him softly. He responded and we stayed like that until we heard Olivia calling us. Breaking away, he chuckled and took my hand in his as we walked back inside. We followed the same routine; we ate dinner and said good-bye. He then came up to my room, and we fell asleep.

The next morning I woke to Jared's fingers lightly twirling my hair around his finger.

"Good morning." He said brightly. I could only groan at his happiness.

I buried my head back into my pillow. "It's too early to be happy." I mumbled.

"Really?" He questioned. I nodded somewhat awkwardly, with my head still on my pillow.

"That's too bad." I could hear the smirk in his voice. "Because I have some good news." I lifted my head a few inches off the pillow to look at him.

"What?" I asked when he wouldn't answer to my looks.

"The bad vampires aren't going to be here much longer." He smiled. I let that run through my mind.

"Wait. How?" I asked suspiciously.

"We're going to fight them." He said hesitantly, and I knew he hadn't wanted to tell me that.

"Why do you have to fight?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"Kim, all of us have to. But it will be fine. There are a lot more of us that there are of them." That was a lie; I could see it in his eyes.

"If you want me to calm down, please don't lie to me." I told him.

"Ok, there are a few more of them, but the Cullens are going to be helping too. It will be fine." He promised, and he couldn't keep himself from making a face when he said the name.

I could barely talk. What if something happened to him? He seemed to read my mind.

"Nothing will happen to me." He tried to assure me. "The Cullens are going to teach us how to fight them. Better ways than we already know." I could tell he was trying to assure himself as much as me. So, I smiled and hugged him close.

"You better go." I whispered, taking note of the sounds from downstairs.

"I'll see you soon." He said, kissing me quick.

"Ok, see you soon." I agreed.

**There you go! I know, it's a little short, but oh well. I hoped you liked it. And please review! I can't tell what to work on if no one tells me what's wrong with it! Thanks again!**

**Allie**


	13. The Battle

**Once again, I own nothing except Anna, Charlotte, and Kim's and Jared's families. **

Kim's POV

School got progressively busier, effectively cutting down the time Jared and I could spend together. He managed to sneak away at least once a week, to stay the night. Nothing happened; we just talked until I fell asleep. It was mostly to get some quality time together, but once in a while I would get freaked out about the vampires. Speaking of which, the big battle was just around the corner. To say I was terrified was an understatement. We were alone in my living room, both my parents were at work and Olivia was with a friend.

"Kim." Jared said, looking at me intently.

I bit my lip, looking down at the math problem I was working on. "Yeah?" I asked distractedly.

"Are you ok? The closer we get to the," He paused, not wanting to say it," fight, you get more nervous."

I looked up right away and put a smile on my face.

"I'm fine. Just a little worried, you know that." I tried to reassure him. It didn't work.

"Come here." He sighed. I got up and nestled into his arms. He kissed the top of my head and sighed again. "Nothing is going to happen to me, or anyone. I swear." He looked down at me when he said it.

"I know, but how would you feel if I was going to fight a bunch of vampires in a few days?" I raised an eyebrow.

"That would never happen." He tried to shrug it off.

"Well, let's say that it could. Wouldn't you be a little worried?" I dug further.

"Of course I would be worried!"

"That's how I feel, just times about a thousand, because I know you're actually going to do it." My voice trailed off and I looked down at my hands which were clasped in his. He put his head in the crook of my neck and exhaled slowly, making goose bumps pop up where he blew. I giggled, which made him laugh.

After a minute his expression turned serious again. "I won't get hurt."

"Ok." I said, and tried hard to believe it. The next few days passed in a blur, with school, trying not to bite all my nails of from worrying, and trying to reassure Anna nothing would happen to Embry. She was just as anxious as I was. We decided we would get together at Emily's during the battle, to comfort each other. It helped that it was a weekend night; I was just going to sleep over at Emily's, we weren't sure just how long the battle would last, so I figured going over night would be best. My parents were pretty good about things like that on the weekend.

I brought my own pillow, a few blankets, and a book to try and distract myself. Jared came over to my house first thing in the morning and we walked to Emily's together.

I must have looked nervous, because Jared took my hand and tugged me gently to a stop while we were walking. I practically threw myself in his arms and just stood there, shaking for a few minutes. He rubbed my back and tried to calm me down.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled into his chest.

"For what? You have no reason to be sorry. It's okay to be nervous, although unnecessary. We always win." I could hear the cockiness in his voice and smiled a little.

"I know. It's just, I can't lose you, ok?" I leaned back to look him in the eye. He looked totally serious and nodded before pressing his lips lightly to mine.

"We should probably get going." He said unwillingly. I agreed and started walking again. We spent the rest of the walk in silence. When we got to Emily's house, he gripped my hand tighter and smiled at me before we continued up to her door. Jared pushed it open.

"We're here." He called. There was a small gasp and then silence. We waited a second and Emily came out of the kitchen with Sam behind her, smoothing her hair and clothes. She saw us and blushed. I smirked at her, while Jared started laughing.

"Sorry we… interrupted." I said, smiling.

"It's fine. We weren't doing anything." Emily said, still blushing.

"Right." I grinned up at her. Yes, up, practically everyone I knew was taller than me.

Everyone was meeting at the house, so we watched some TV while waiting for the rest of the guys, and Anna. Anna and Embry were the next to show up, with Anna holding tightly to his hand. As if she held tight enough he wouldn't go away. I agreed, and tightened my own grip on Jared's hand which was wrapped around my waist. We were sitting in the chair together, me on his lap. He leaned forward slightly and kissed the top of my head, then pulled me closer to his chest.

Anna smiled in greeting when she saw us and pulled Embry down to the couch. He sat and pulled her close to his side, under his arm. She snuggled closer and closed her eyes. I smiled. They were so cute together. Almost before I knew it, all the guys, plus Leah, had arrived. Some gave Jared appreciative smirks when they saw me sitting in his lap. He mainly rolled his eyes, but a couple got a special one-fingered wave. I, of course, hit him lightly. It wasn't appropriate. He just smiled at me and kissed my forehead.

When everyone was there, Sam gathered them up outside, to discuss strategy away from us girls. Jared looked at me apologetically. He kissed me lightly and left. Embry did the same with Anna, and Emily hugged Sam tightly before they walked outside. We all knew they weren't actually leaving yet, but we did it anyway. We watched them through the window.

"How can they be so excited about this?" Anna asked, watching the smiles on their faces.

"I don't know. They think it's some fun thing where they can prove themselves to each other. They want to show off." Emily said.

"But it isn't fun! They could get seriously hurt!" I exclaimed, my voice shaking slightly. I shook my head, frustrated I was getting so emotional.

"Kim, it's okay to be scared, we all are." Anna said softly.

"I know." I told her. I hugged her tightly, trying to reassure myself and her. She rubbed my back, trying to calm me down. I let go of her and smiled gratefully. She really was the best friend you could ask for.

The pack spent a good twenty minutes out there, talking about whatever they were talking about. I turned my attention to Leah. She was very pretty, I felt bad for her. Emily had told me what had happened between her, Sam, and Leah. It must be hard, having to work so closely with the man you love. At least, I assumed she still loved him. The way she was looking at him now left me no doubt she still had feelings for him.

"How is it for Sam? Working with Leah?" I asked Emily.

She sighed, a frown on her face. "It's hard, he feels so awful. It's not like he could help it, and now she understands. But, it doesn't make it any easier."

"I bet. I'm sorry Em." I hugged her.

"It's fine." She insisted.

"Okay." I agreed.

"Oh, look! They're coming back in." Anna called to us.

They did, most headed straight through the house to the front door, but Jared, Sam, and Embry came to say goodbye.

Jared walked up and kissed me hard, nothing like the soft peck he gave me before. After just a little bit, he pulled away, kissed me one last time, and hugged me close to his chest.

"I'll be back soon, okay?" He whispered in my ear.

"Do you promise?" I asked, looking up to him.

"Pinky promise." He smiled as he stuck out his pinky. I crossed it with mine and smiled.

"Now, you can't break a pinky promise." I reminded him.

"I know, that's why I did it." He said.

"Okay, good. Bye, Jared." I hugged him again and then stepped back so I wouldn't be tempted to simply grab him and keep him here with me. He grinned at me as he walked away. I waved as the front door shut.

We waited a second then glanced at each other.

"Well, now what do we do?" Anna asked, breaking the silence.

"Do you guys want to play a game?" Emily asked, with an eyebrow raised.

We ended up playing Monopoly, Life, Chess, Scrabble, and Candyland twice. By the time we completed all of that it was only early afternoon.

"They should be done soon, right?" I asked, looking to Emily and Anna.

"I don't know." Emily murmured, looking out the window.

I wanted to take all of our minds off our imprinters. "Who's up for making cookies?" I inquired.

"Oh, me! Can we make chocolate chip cookies?" Anna asked excitedly.

"Those sound good to me!" Emily agreed. We put our energy into making the cookies. We managed to eat all of them ourselves, and there were a lot of them.

"I am so full." Anna moaned, holding her stomach.

"Me too." I added.

"How do the guys eat so much?" Emily asked, with her eyes closed.

"I have no idea." I responded.

Being so warm and full, we all drifted off to sleep.

I opened my eyes and I wasn't in Emily's living room anymore. I was in a forest. I didn't recognize where I was, so I wandered around, looking for something familiar. As I was walking I heard a groan. Following the sound, I found someone lying on the ground curled up, with small pools of blood around them. My heart stopped for a second. It was Jared. I rushed to his side.

"Jared!" I shook his shoulder. He turned and looked at me, smiled, and then moaned again. I couldn't tell where he was bleeding from. "Jared, look at me!" I ordered as he closed his eyes. "Jared! Jared!"

Suddenly I was being shaken. "Kim, Kim Honey, wake up. It's just a bad dream." I opened my eyes. Emily and Anna were sitting beside me.

"I'm sorry guys." I said and started crying. "I had a dream, and Jared was" I took a breath "hurt, and it was so awful!"

Anna hugged me. "Sweetie, it's okay. Jared is fine; he'll probably be here any minute." She rubbed my back and rocked me back and forth gently.

"I know." I told her and dried my tears.

"He will be okay, Kim." Emily told me quietly. "I know it." I smiled through my tears at her.

"Thank you both. I'm going to go use the bathroom." I said to them.

"All right." They agreed, watching me as I walked away.

I splashed some water on my face and ran my fingers through my hair. I didn't want to look like a total mess. Suddenly I paused. Was that a guy's voice out there? I listened harder. It was!

I threw open the door and raced back to the living room. Jared, Embry, and Sam stood there, along with Paul, Seth, and Leah.

I ran to Jared who had been looking at me since I entered the room.

"I'm so glad you're okay." I whispered as he held me close.

"Of course I'm okay, I pinky promised, didn't I?" I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Don't be a jerk! I was so worried!" I said, looking him in the eyes. He sighed and hugged me again.

"I know, I'm sorry." He said ruefully. I reached up to kiss him. He responded eagerly, holding my cheek with one hand and the other was around my waist.

"Get a room, why don't you?" Paul called. I pulled away smiling as Jared groaned and glared at Paul.

"How did it go?" Emily asked Sam, after they embraced. Anna was wrapped in Embry's arms, watching from there.

"It went well, Jacob was hurt, but he should be fine." Sam answered her. "I should probably go to him." He met her eyes and she sighed.

"Yes, go." She kissed him and watched him go, taking Seth and Paul with him. During this, I watched Leah. Her face tightened when they kissed, but she seemed in control of her emotions. I hoped she could move on, she deserved too.

I turned my attention back to Jared. "And you're really fine?" I asked him.

"I'm perfectly fine." He assured me. I smiled happily. He pulled me to the kitchen to say something.

"I was wondering, since you told your parents you were sleeping here, if you wanted to come back to my house. My parents went on a short vacation and Caitlyn is at a friend's house overnight. I just want to keep you close." He admitted, drawing me closer to him again.

"Sure, that's a great idea. I'm sure Emily doesn't actually want me here, she'll probably want to celebrate with Sam alone." He smirked at me before kissing me again.

We walked back to the living room, Jared's arm tight around my waist.

"Hey, Emily, I'm going to go home with Jared." I managed to say without blushing. Both she and Anna smirked at me suggestively.

"Oh, stop it!" I cried, turning to Jared and burying my head in his side. I collected the few items I brought and came back to stand by Jared. "Are you ready to go?" I asked.

"Yep." He said, looking down at me. I hugged Anna and Emily, said goodbye to Leah and we walked to his house.

I leaned closer into his side. We got to his house and he flipped the lights on. He stretched and groaned slightly.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing, I'm just a little sore." He said quickly.

"You are such a liar, what's wrong?" I demanded, putting a hand on my hip. He turned away from me, shrugging. "Did you get hurt?" I asked.

"No, just a little bruise." He reassured me.

"I want to see it." I insisted stubbornly.

He looked at me, saw that I wasn't budging, and reluctantly removed his shirt. I covered a gasp as his chest appeared. It was covered in a huge bruise; it took up about half of his chest.

"What happened?" He looked away.

"It was an accident. One of the bad vampires was thrown at me, I didn't duck in time. It's fine." He insisted.

"That is not fine!" I gaped at him, before turning to his freezer and wrapping up an ice pack.

"Kim, it's fine." I ignored him and gently rested the ice pack on the bruise. The part it covered, at least. That's how we spent the rest of the evening, me holding the ice pack on him while we watched a movie he put in. We fell asleep watching it.

**Wow, I think this is one of the longest chapters I've written! I couldn't find a good place to end it. Thanks for reading! And please, please review!**

**Love,**

**Allie **


	14. The Day After

**It seems like I am always apologizing for not writing sooner! This one's not any different. And please review, I didn't get any for the last chapter, and I was personally really excited about it. I'm super sorry for not updating sooner, but here it is!**

I woke up to murmuring voices. I didn't open my eyes, but I did shift a bit and heard the voices pause for a second.

"I can't believe you let her stay over." One said after the pause.

"It was very irresponsible." Another one added.

"Nothing happened, you know what went on yesterday, and she was still really worried about me. Staying here made her feel better." This one was Jared, even in my still-asleep state, I could recognize his voice.

"I suppose that's okay." The first voice replied. "But it won't happen again, I realize the circumstances are different, but you are both still teenagers."

"We were never here." The second voice, this one was male, said. Was it his parents? It must be. I sighed to myself before shutting my eyes tighter and tried to fall back asleep.

I heard them walking away, then a door opening and closing before I was shaken gently.

"Kim, I know you're awake." Jared said, leaning in close enough to let me feel his breath.

"How'd you know?" I asked, opening an eye.

"I heard your breathing change." He responded simply.

I nodded, swinging my legs off of the couch. "What time is it?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

"Almost 9:30." Jared told me.

All of sudden the memories of yesterday came rushing back. I gasped, "How is your chest?" I asked anxiously.

"It's almost all better." He insisted. And to prove his point he removed his shirt again, showing me his chest. He was right; it didn't look anything like yesterday. Now it was all a pale yellow, except for the center which was a slightly darker brown.

"That's amazing." I mumbled to myself, running my hand across it lightly. He didn't even wince when my hand made contact with it. I smiled approvingly.

"So your parents caught us?"

He looked guilty. "Yeah, they got home early and saw us. But I explained what happened and its fine. They aren't going to say anything to your parents or anything." My eyes widened. I hadn't even thought of that. He correctly read my expression. "Its fine, I said they _aren't _going to say anything." He tried to reassure me.

"Okay." I nodded, "I better pack up and get home." He frowned for a moment before agreeing.

"I probably won't be able to see you till school tomorrow; the pack is going to be with Jacob until he gets better." Now I was the one frowning. He smiled, at my expression.

"But I was thinking we could go out tomorrow night. We've been so busy with school and everything; we haven't actually been out together in a while."

My eyes brightened. He was right; we hadn't been out on a date in so long. "What were you thinking?" I asked.

"Maybe some dinner, then we could go to the beach, make another sand castle." He grinned as he said that.

"Don't make fun of the sandcastle." I said sternly. "It was very fun."

"I know, I had a lot of fun watching you build it." I felt my cheeks go red, but ignored it and hugged Jared tightly.

"I really have to go." I reminded him, but made no move to get up.

"Then go." Jared chuckled when he didn't move either.

When I finally decided to get up, Jared's arm tightened around me. "Jared!"I moaned playfully.

"Yes?"

"You should let me go." I suggested.

He pulled me closer for a second and then released me. Then I was on a hunt for my bag. I couldn't remember where I had put it down last night before we started watching the movie.

"Jared, do you know where I put my bag?" I asked, after searching for them.

"I think it's under the chair." He answered. I stopped for a minute, puzzled. How had it gotten under the chair?

"I'm not sure how it got there, but I think it's when my parents came in and it got pushed under there." He said, almost in answer to my thought. It was like he read my mind.

"Aha!" I exclaimed as I fished my bag out from under the chair. I left to get dressed and ready for the day. I left the bathroom feeling much better.

"You like nice." Jared said, as he looked up from the TV.

"Thank you. Bye!" I said hurriedly.

"You can't leave yet."

"And why not?" I asked, somewhat flirtatiously.

"You haven't kissed me goodbye." He said, frowning slightly.

"Well, that's just not right, is it?" I teased.

"No, it isn't." He agreed before kissing me.

"I really have to go now. Goodbye!" I said one last time before going out the door. I looked back and smiled to see Jared watching me out of the window. I waved and kept on walking.

I was greeted at home by my mom and Olivia.

"How was Emily?" My mom asked as she flipped through the pages of a book.

"She was good." I lied. There was no way I could actually describe how Emily was.

"That's nice. Do you have homework?" I frowned, remembering the assignment I had to do with Charlotte.

"Yeah, actually a project with Charlotte." I admitted.

"Is this an actual project, or do you just want to see Charlotte?" She asked knowingly.

"Believe it or not, it's an actual project. Unfortunately." I added under my breath. Ever since Embry imprinted on Anna, we had kind of left Charlotte out. Not intentionally, but when you and one of your best friends both discover they have soul mates in an ancient race, or whatever they are, it kind of throws your other friendships of balance. We had had a big fight the other day about how Anna and I were always together; the sleepover at Emily's sparked it.

"What was that? Did you two have a fight?" My mom asked worriedly. She loved Anna and Charlotte to death, and she hated it when we fought.

"No, I just really don't want to work on it." I promised, smiling.

"Okay." She looked skeptical but didn't say anything more.

I went up to my room and decided to call her.

It rang for a few seconds before she picked up.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hey, Char. It's Kim. I was just wondering if you wanted to come over to work on the project." I asked hesitantly.

There was a pause and I knew she was debating whether or not it was worth it to say no.

"I suppose, I'll be over in half an hour." She hung up without another word. Oh yeah, she was definitely mad. I set up all the things we needed for the project and waited for her to come.

I heard her greet my mom and Olivia before mom sent her upstairs.

"Hey." She said, standing in my doorway.

"Hi." I said, looking at her. I really missed her.

"Char, I just want to say, we didn't mean to leave you out. It's different with Jared and Embry. You know that. We just need to adjust some." I smiled tentatively at her. To my relief she smiled back and gave me a giant hug.

"I've missed you so much, Kimmy!" She exclaimed, her voice muffled from her head against my shirt.

"I've missed you too." I admitted truthfully.

"It's just; I don't know how to act. You and Anna haven't ever had boyfriends! It's so different, and I don't know what to do." She declared.

"I know, it's crazy. How do Anna and I have a boyfriend and not you, the flirting master?" I asked her, laughing.

"I keep on asking myself that." She told me seriously, and then smiled at me.

"Okay, I told my mom we actually needed to work, and we do. How about we finish the project and then go shopping? Just me and you?" I asked.

"That sounds amazing, let's finish the project." Charlotte said enthusiastically.

We worked quickly and left quickly after asking my mom. Of course she agreed, I think she sensed it was a make-up shopping trip.

As soon as we got there Charlotte scoped out all the sales and off we went. I wasn't really looking for anything, but when Charlotte thrust a dress into my hands I decided to try it on. It was really cute. It was a light blue flower pattern that was actually pretty short and showed a lot of my leg, and it had those cut-outs on the sleeves, so it showed most of my shoulder.

"You look amazing in that." Charlotte declared when I stepped out to show her. "You have to buy it."

"You think so?" I asked shyly.

"I know so." She nodded. "I think you should wear it on your date tomorrow."

"Jared's going to love you for making me buy it." I told her.

"No, there's no room for him to love anyone besides you." Charlotte said matter-of-factly.

I blushed but didn't deny it. While he hadn't actually used the exact words, I was pretty sure he did love me. I was perfectly content to stay where we were at the moment though. Despite the whole soul mates thing, I was still only a teenager in high school.

"How are Anna and Embry doing?" Charlotte asked casually. I paused and looked at her, realizing she was nervous. She had also been mad at Anna when we fought.

"They're good. They really like each other." I said honestly.

"I don't know how you and Anna did it, but you managed to find two of the few amazing and hot guys here. I need to find one too." She mused.

"You will." I reassured her.

We finished up shopping pretty quickly, with Charlotte buying a pair of shoes and a skirt, and I bought the dress.

"That was fun, I'm glad we're talking again." I said as got back to my house.

"Me too, it sucks not having anyone to talk to." She grinned. "Now I have to go apologize to Anna. Wish me luck." She called as she left.

"Good luck!" I smiled and headed inside. I had all of my homework done, so I decided to call Emily.

"How is everyone?" I asked; code for how was Jacob. This was just in case my parents overheard me.

"He's doing better, it could be a little but longer, but he'll be fine." Emily said.

"That's good. I just wanted to check up on everyone."

"If you're talking about Jared, he was here for lunch earlier and he's fine. Very excited about your date tomorrow." She said teasingly.

"He mentioned that?" I squeaked.

"Yeah, the other guys made fun of him for a while before he made it clear not too. I think you know how he did that." She laughed.

"When are the guys going to figure out violence isn't the answer?" I asked, exasperated.

"I don't know, but it always seems to work well for them, so probably never."

"Okay, well, I should go. I'll stop over and see you soon." I promised.

"Sounds good, bye Kim!"

It was only around three right now, so I decided to take a walk.

"I'll be back soon, Mom, and yes I have my phone." I said, in response to the question she was about to ask.

"Alright, see you soon."

I wasn't really sure where I was going, so I just let myself walk. I walked down to the beach Jared and I made the sandcastle at. After sitting and watching the waves for a bit, I got up and decided to take a longer way home. It ran through the forest, but like I said, it was only around 3:30 now, with plenty of light. I had almost gotten through the woods and could see the lighter side a little bit in front of me when I heard rustling a little ahead of me and to the side. I slowed down, barely even breathing as I crept closer.

I hid behind a tree and cautiously stuck my head out from behind it when I saw Jared and Embry. My sigh of relief must have alerted them to my presence because they immediately turned to look at me. My expression guilty, I came out from behind the tree with my hands up in front of me in a mock surrender.

"You guys scared me. I thought I was going to get attacked!" I admonished while smiling.

"I'm sorry; we didn't think anyone else was around." Jared said as he came up to hug me.

"It's fine. But what are you doing, I thought you were going to be with Jacob?"

"He kicked us out, apparently we were being really loud and annoying." Embry said, shrugging as if he didn't know what he did wrong.

"Hurt people need quiet, but I bet you're glad he kicked you out, huh?" I asked, smiling at Jared's sheepish expression.

"What? It was really boring." He tried to defend himself. "Once we knew he was going to be alright, it wasn't much fun."

"I get that. I talked to Emily. She said you're pretty excited about tomorrow." I smiled.

"He is! He won't shut up about how you two are finally going to get some alone time, which I don't understand because you two spent the night together last night. How much alone time do you need?" Embry asked, rolling his eyes.

"I'll remember that next time you say something about Anna." Jared said, frowning slightly at Embry.

Apparently Embry didn't like that because he apologized and left quickly.

"Sorry about him." Jared said once Embry was gone.

"It's fine. I don't understand how Anna deals with him."

"He's a lot nicer around her, let me tell ya." Jared told me, smiling.

"Are you a lot nicer around me?" I asked smirking slightly.

"I'm always nice." He boasted, before saying, "Of course. I don't think you would like it if I talked to you the way I talk to the guys, or vice versa."

I wrinkled my nose and agreed.

"I was actually just going to come find you." Jared changed the subject.

"Really, well I found you."

"I know, and I'm glad. So, what'd you do all day?" He inquired.

"I did my project with Charlotte and then we went shopping. And I took a walk, that's how I found you."

"I thought you and Charlotte were fighting?" He said, confused.

"We were, but we both apologized. She was just going to find Anna and tell her sorry when she left." I explained.

"That's good. I know it must be hard for you and Anna." He sympathized.

"Yeah, it is. But we'll make it through it. We always do." I said, more confidently than I felt.

He smiled at me and we started walking out of the forest. We ended up walking over to Emily's house.

"It smells good." I said, taking in a deep breath as we walked in.

"I know, she was just starting to make cookies and brownies when I left." He looked at my guiltily.

"So that's why we came here?"

"Kind of." He admitted. I was going to say something, but it did smell good.

"Hey, Emily." Jared yelled as he walked into the kitchen. I heard a distant reply and Jared took that to mean dig in. He started eating and I joined him. Emily really did know how to cook.

"Is it good?" Emily asked when she appeared in the doorway.

Jared nodded enthusiastically, his mouth a bit full at the moment. She smiled and came to sit with us.

"They really are good, Emily. Thanks." I told her, as I ate a brownie.

"You're welcome. I take it Jacob kicked you out?" She directed her question to Jared, who managed to swallow and answer her.

"Yep, it seems he didn't like all of us hanging around his house. Not that we really fit in his house well." He added as an afterthought.

"Sam's still over there, as well as the doctor and Bella." Emily informed us.

Jared's face tightened when she mentioned Bella's name.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Bella. She leads him on and then runs back to her vampire. She kissed him before the fight and he wouldn't stop thinking about it until Sam made him." Jared told us. I frowned at that. I didn't know her well enough to judge her, but from what I was hearing, she wasn't the best person. The person I did know was Jacob, and I saw how much he liked her. It was really sad to watch him.

"That's awful." I said, voicing my thoughts.

"I know. I don't understand why he likes her, though. It's not as if he imprinted on her or anything."

"It's a mystery." Emily said slowly, as if she didn't know either.

Suddenly I looked at the time. "Crap, I need to get home. I just told my mom I was going for a walk. She's going to be worried." I exclaimed, standing up. Jared stood up as well, but looked longingly at the food still on the table.

"Don't worry Jared, I'll make some more next time you come over." Emily promised, as she laughed.

"Come on." I said and tugged at his hand.

"Bye, Emily!" I called as we left.

Instantly Jared's arm wound around my shoulder, pulling me closer into his side as we walked.

"Can I stay over tonight?" He asked.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, with your parent's finding us this morning." I frowned, not wanting to say no.

"You're probably right." Jared sighed.

"Of course I am. I'm always right." I said with a straight face and glanced up at him. He smiled secretively to himself for a second before he bent down a little and put his arm behind my legs, then sweeping them up as he added an arm behind my neck, so he was carrying me bridal style.

"Jared!"I squealed in surprise. "Put me down!"

"I don't feel like it." He drawled, staring down at me.

"Jared." This time his name came out in a tone of annoyance.

"Yes?" He asked with a charming smile.

"Please put me down?" I stuck out my lower lip and pouted slightly. It always worked on my dad, maybe it would work on Jared too.

He sighed dramatically before kissing me softly and then set me on my feet. "Is that better?" He asked with an eyebrow cocked.

"Yes, very much so." I replied haughtily, trying to contain my laughter, before turning and walking away, only to have him grab my wrist and spin me back around.

I burst out laughing and hugged him quickly.

"You are so strange." He commentated before letting me go and grabbing my hand.

"But that's why you like me." I quipped back.

"That's very true." He replied, smiling down at me.

Soon we were back at my house. "I better get home." Jared said, looking at his watch.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow at school. Can't wait for our date tomorrow." I told him, with a small smile.

"Me either, it's going to be great."

"Where did you say we were going for dinner?" I asked.

"I didn't say, it's a surprise."

"I hate surprises!" I reminded him.

"You'll like this one, I promise." He looked sincere.

"Alright, see you tomorrow." We kissed and I walked inside.

"Hey, Mom, sorry I was gone so long. I ran into Jared." I started to explain as I walked inside.

"It's fine honey." She responded, from her seat on the couch. I joined her and Olivia to watch TV for a while, and then I volunteered to make dinner. My dad just got back from his fishing trip for dinner and we all ate together. I decided to go upstairs and get to sleep early. I didn't want to be tired for my date tomorrow. I quickly fell asleep.

**There it is! Finally, I know. I'm sorry it took me so long to write more, but I honestly had no idea what to write. Writers block sucks! I tried to make this chapter longer to make up for the wait. Please review, I've gotten almost no reviews for the past couple chapters, and I really want to know what's wrong with the story. I can only get better if you guys help me! So, please review!**

**Allie**


	15. The Promise

Kim's POV

School flew by quickly, even though Jared wasn't there. He had been assigned Jacob-duty, to watch over him all day because Jacob was already bored and wanted to be up and about. In return, Sam gave Jared the night off for our date. I was happy to see Anna and Charlotte sitting at our table at lunch, talking to each other.

"Is everything all good now?" I asked warily as I sat down.

"Yeah, it's fine." Anna smiled at me.

"That's great! I hate it when we fight." I exclaimed.

"Like we don't?" Charlotte asked, with an eyebrow raised.

No, but still. I was the one who got us back together." I added helpfully. She shook her head at me as she laughed. I smiled, I really was glad it all worked out. Excluding Charlotte like that had been awful, but it was still necessary. Charlotte brought up my date, and the fact that she helped pick out my dress for it.

"No fair, I get to pick out her outfit for the next date." Anna complained.

"I'm not a human Barbie doll." I complained and rolled my eyes.

"You might as well be, Kimmy. You don't dress yourself up, so why shouldn't we?" Charlotte asked. I dropped it and lunch passed by, with promises to tell them all about my date the next day.

When I got home, I finished my surprisingly light load of homework and read for a while to kill time before Jared got there. About half an hour before he was supposed to be there, I slipped into my blue dress and curled my hair. I added a pair of silver flats, a necklace, a few bracelets, and a headband and I was set.

"Kim, Jared is here!" My mom called up the stairs.

I heard them talking and smiled to myself. It was amazing how well they got along. I gave myself one last glance in the mirror and headed downstairs.

"Wow, Kim, you look incredible." Jared said when he saw me. I blushed and thanked him. "Shall we go?" He questioned. I nodded and called a goodbye to my parents and Olivia.

"Seriously, you look amazing." He repeated when we got outside.

"Thank you. You look pretty good yourself." I complimented.

He smiled in thanks and led me to a car. "This isn't yours, is it?" I asked him.

"Nope, I borrowed my dad's." He grinned as he opened the door up for me.

"So, can I know where we're going yet?"

"You'll see." Jared replied. We drove off, talking about anything except for the pack. I sensed he was trying to make it a wolf-free date, which I appreciated. We pulled up to a little restaurant I didn't recognize.

"This place has the best pizza." He proclaimed and held the door open for me. I decided to believe him and ordered a small Hawaiian pizza, while he got a large sausage and black olive one. And of course, he managed to finish before me. He patiently waited for me to finish and we walked to the beach when I did. We found a good spot to sit at.

"Want to build a sandcastle?" He asked me. I smiled and nodded. I went scavenging for the shells for the windows, while Jared starting building the castle.

"Is this going to be our thing now? Building sandcastles?" He questioned, as he formed a tower.

"Definitely. " I smirked up at him.

"In that case, this is the best place to do it." He mumbled, almost to himself.

"Huh?" I asked absentmindedly as I started adding the shells.

"Kim, I really like you, and I know you know that. So, I wanted to give you this." He said. I looked up from what I was doing and saw him holding a little jewelry box. My mouth hung open and I stared at him.

"Jared," My voice squeaked. "That isn't what I think it is, is it?"

He laughed, "No, it's not an engagement ring." He flipped it open and there was a silver ring with a perfect little aquamarine stone, my birthstone. "It's a promise ring. I know we're too young for engagement and all of that stuff, so I wanted to give you this, to remind you of how I feel." He smiled nervously. I stared at it before hugging Jared so hard he almost fell backwards.

"I love it. It wasn't too expensive, though, was it?" I asked concerned, as he slipped in on my right ring finger.

"No, I got a good deal for it."He assured me.

I kissed him quickly and smiled happily at him. "Thank you so much, it means so much to me." I told him, looking down at it.

"I'm glad you like it." We talked and finished building our castle before Jared decided we should get back, as it was a school night. He walked me up to my door and we kissed goodnight.

"Thank you again, tonight was amazing." I said again, still smiling up at him.

"It was a lot of fun, wasn't it?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around me and held me close. I nodded into his chest and heard him chuckle.

"I better get in." I said regretfully.

"You probably should." Jared agreed, and held me tighter to him for a second before letting me go. "I'll see you tomorrow." He promised and kissed me quickly. I got in my house and waved out the window until I couldn't see him anymore. I called goodnight to my family, successfully warding off questions from my mom and got to my room. I studied my ring for a minute and smiled to myself. I didn't know how or why, but I did know I was so lucky to have Jared in my life. For now, that was all I needed.

**That's it! This story is finally done, I can't believe it took me this long to finish. I honestly wasn't going to end it here, but I couldn't see it going anywhere else, and I wasn't getting much feedback, so this seemed like a good place to end. Thanks for sticking with me, I hope you liked it and please leave a review!**

**Allie**


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